"Beta squad to Cave, the target has disappeared and... well uh, the secretary general wasn't the secretary general."

Artemis blinked, turning to the other hologram she had up, she flicked her commlink as she looked through footage.

"Come again, Beta?"

"Tseng was uh..."

"It appears the secretary general was some kind of... extra-terrestrial," Batgirl filled in for Wonder Girl, "the target has disappeared, we'll return to the cave to debrief. ETA fifteen minutes."

"agreed," Artemis said, frowning as she analysed the footage she'd gotten hold of already. This was... beyond worrying.

She was beginning to wish someone else had stepped up so she didn't have to lead the damn team, it would work better in the long run, but it was too late to change things.

Artemis flicked through the screens, Delta squad came through the zeta beams, Conner and Beast Boy covered in muck. Lagoon boy greeted M'Gann with a kiss and Artemis gave Conner a smile as he walked by. She was about to go talk to him when he announced that he would be hitting the showers. Her eyes followed him out as she sighed.

"Delta, I trust it went well?"

"it was uh-may-zing," Beast boy cut in before M'Gann had a chance to begin a report. As she smiled Robin stepped up to explain. She took it as a sign she didn't need to stick around and greeted her boyfriend. Lagoon boy started prattling about dinner plans.

"all according to plan, Clay Face is on his way to his cell in Arkham as we speak," Robin spoke up.

Artemis nodded, "good, hit the showers and get started on your official mission reports."

"where's beta?" M'Gann asked.

"Batgirl and Wonder girl headed to the United Nations headquarters to help with an attack, they're on their way back now," she said smoothly.

L'Gann smiled, "then I have time to make you some crab cakes, Angelfish."

The two walked off, smiling, and Artemis let her face fall once no one was watching.

She took out her communicator, the one that no one could know about. She flicked the buttons and played with the frequency. She took the zeta tubes to Bludhaven, made sure she wasn't followed, and called the one contact on the communicator.

She needed to talk to Kaldur.

"I'm still pissed about this, by the way," Alex grumbled, glancing between Thalia and Dick.

"thank you for reminding us," Thalia said, "we can have the party another time."

"we pushed it back a month. and then two weeks. now we have to push it back further, come on, it's not gonna happen," Alex shifted and switched hands on the grip in the aircraft's ceiling, slight turbulence shook them.

"If it helps, I don't care," Dick said.

"it does not."

"Alex, please get over it," Slade said, rolling his neck with a pop. He was getting too old for this, "it was a fucking birthday party."

"we didn't have one last year! or the year before."

"exactly," Dick said, "why start now?"

Alex gave him a glare in response.

"we can have a big party for everything next month," Ra's offered.

Alex sighed with an overdramatic pout, "fine."

"I'm only 22 anyway, that's not a milestone, I don't care," Dick said.

"beside the point," Alex huffed.

"If you're quite done," Duvall said, leaning over his shoulder from the pilot's seat, "we're about to start landing."

"Thank you, Duvall," Thalia said, "sit down you two, even Slade's in a chair."

Alex made a face.

"I'm good," Dick said, swapping hands on the hanging grip, "gonna stand while I'm young enough."

Ra's grunted, "enjoy it while it lasts, my boy."

"says the immortal assassin king," Alex grinned.

"I don't understand, just sit down," Thalia sighed.

"it's a matter of pride," Alex defended.

"pride? I- what?"

At that point Slade decided to stand as well. Thalia looked on like a character from the Office.

"see? Pride." Alex snickered.

"I give up on all of you."

"okay everyone, starting to set down now," Duvall sung out.

Turbulence shot through the aircraft, the standing guards tightened their grips while Thalia and Ra's leaned back in their seats. They weren't in the usual fancy jet this time, instead going for the military-esque armoured aircraft. No chances would be taken when flying in an area where they could be attacked.

Especially with the league suddenly hotter on their tail than ever.

They landed and the door and ramp was opened, the guards each took to Ra's and Thalia's sides as they walked out. This meeting was the first to be hosted by Black Manta, Dick was interested in how it would go.

And they'd heard that Manta had a new number 2. A right-hand-man who was Manta's most trusted lieutenant- or rather Admiral, considering their location. No one knew who it was, when they'd shown up or why Manta was so trusting.

The group walked out onto the tarmac, the landing pad was enclosed with giant walls and tall ceilings. Their welcoming party were clad in Manta's usual garb and marched them along. Manta definitely ran things differently to Queen Bee and her aristocracy.

Once exiting the landing pad they found themselves in halls with glass along one side, looking out on the sea. Dick listened to what their chauffers were saying.

"that's the last of them, everyone accounted for, submerge may begin."

Submerge?

Oh, no way.

There was continued chatter and it seemed that things were being said along the line, then a siren wailed for a few seconds and the intercoms crackled.

"all personnel enter the craft, submerge will begin in five minutes."

Ra's looked over to Slade, "submerge?" he asked, voice sounding like a warning. An answer would be required or there'd be hell to pay.

"this wasn't in any of our info," Slade muttered to Ra's.

"the base is fully transportable," one of Manta's men piped up, "and is designed as a submarine, capable of connecting to our other ships to create a small under water system of ships."

Thalia looked at him, incredulous, "why were we not told this?"

"it is strictly classified information."

"we were going to find out anyway."

"exactly."

Dick and Alex shared a look, they and Slade seemed to unanimously decide to stick closer to Ra's and Thalia.

As they walked, going through rooms and halls, the craft shuddered and rocked. The glass wall revealed the movement as the ship slowly sank lower into the water. Soon the waterline rose up, and Dick watched as the lights brightened to acclimatize with the darkness that edged in, crystalline water surrounding from all sides.

Dick took a deep breath, steadied himself. He was more of a flying person, not much of a deep-water type. But he could deal.

They finally found themselves in a dining hall, members of The Light sitting ready to speak.

No milling about, mingling, no snacks, just business. Dick could get behind that.

They sat, Dick on Thalia's left, Slade on Ra's right and Alex in the middle. Manta sat at one head, elaborate and beautiful masks hung on the wall behind him, wooden spears crossed underneath. Savage sat at the other end, the door behind him.

On Manta's right was an empty chair; vacant of his number 2. Dick eyed the crowd, trying to get a grasp of the overall consensus to the room. If everyone was already on edge he'd want to know.

"who are we waiting on?" Luthor drawled.

"My son," Manta said, without skipping a beat. Dick's stomach dropped.

Manta had a son? How did he not know this.

As evident by the expressions of everyone else in the room, they didn't either.

"excuse me?" Bee asked, voice sharp.

Dick's hand rested on the dagger sheathed at his side. The animosity in the room was growing stifling. Everyone was already running on frayed nerves due to the league being on their tail and the Reach being their usual arrogant selves.

The Reach- as soon as Dick remembered them he had to fight a scowl. He didn't know what Savage was thinking, bringing them in. Ra's would be cutting ties soon, he cared too much about his people to risk them on The Light's fool's errand with the Reach. But the longer this dragged out the closer they got to leaving in contempt- something they did not want.

"Manta," Savage said, cutting through Dick's rushing thoughts, "we were under the impression you had a new Admiral."

"yes, I do," Manta said, hands clasped on the table, "and that admiral happens to be my son. Any complaints?"

Dick rose an eyebrow, sharing a look with Thalia.

"it would have been appreciated if we had known," Ra's said.

"you were capable of working well enough before without knowing, and now you do because it is of importance." Manta stayed stony, voice not wavering and eyes boring into Savage from the end of the table; a challenge.

"your secret keeping calls into question your integrity," Bee said, lips about a millimetre from becoming a scowl.

"I wasn't aware my integrity relied on telling you all everything."

The problem wasn't that he kept secrets. Dick knew that much- the problem was it had been easy for him to be caught. It was not a lie he cared about. Luthor could lie, Bee could lie, Ra's could lie. But they'd keep it up, they wouldn't decide to show their hand at the drop of a hat. Because what they lied about was of importance.

A meaningless omission? It merely suggested there was more under the surface.

Dick eyed the empty seat.

"how long will he be?" Luthor asked, "maybe we best start without him."

"there is no need," Manta said with a wave of his hand.

Before Luthor could continue speaking the door hissed open and one of Manta's men walked in, heels clipping on the metal. The only difference from the usual armour was that he did not wear the streamlined goon's helmet, rather the same type Manta wore.

Speak of the devil, Dick thought. And the man sat in the chair that was empty, across from Slade and at his father's right-hand side.

"my associates, I would like you to meet my son," manta said, and the man slid the helmet off, "Kaldur'Ahm."

Dick was quite sure this was the first time he hadn't paid attention in a Light meeting.

In his defence, he had a reason.

That was Kaldur. Kaldur.

What the hell had happened.

No- now, wait. Hold up. This had to be a plan, a double cross, a secret agent situation with the league, there was no other explanation. Kaldur would never, never, betray the league and his friends.

Not like Dick had.

He killed that thought before it could grow.

Kaldur's father was Manta, maybe he'd gone through something similar to Dick, maybe he'd prioritised family and history. Maybe. But it was a mere maybe. And Dick hadn't wanted to work for the light, he'd just wanted to figure out who he was, especially seeing as even batman seemed to think he was born and bred for this.

Kaldur was not. No way. Even if Manta was his father, Kaldur was not made to be his father's right-hand.

This had to be a trick. Had to be.

Which means he had a conversation to have with Thalia after this meeting.

When the meeting was finally finished they started talking about their next moves. Manta was given a bunch more bases to be in charge of.

"we could take the Malina Island base," Ra's offered, "we aren't in charge of many of our assets, we can balance the load."

"no, Manta is in the perfect situation to handle these bases," Bee said, "besides, he hasn't had a trial yet, time to prove your mettle."

"I'm sure I'll prove it to be strong," manta said.

"maybe, Ra's, you can lend a hand," Savage offered, "especially seeing as Manta's right hand is still fresh."

"I assure you, Kaldur'Ahm is fully equipped," Manta said, "he has proven his ability many times."

"to you, maybe. to us? Not yet." Savage turned to Ra's, "maybe you can offer someone to... assist."

Dick thought of it the same time that Ra's said it.

Ra's nodded, "Richard would be perfectly suitable to offer his services."

Perfect.

At his name Dick met Manta's eyes. The man seemed aggravated at having his and his son's loyalties called into question, but he played along.

"an extra hand can only be beneficial," Manta said evenly, "I'll have a room prepared."

"good," Savage said, "how quickly can you pack, Richard?"

Dick was focused on Savage but he kept an eye on Kaldur, "very," as the sound escaped his mouth Kaldur's head snapped in Dick's direction, scepticism in his eyes, "I'll be able to arrive here via helicopter tomorrow, at 1400 hours, is that acceptable?"

Manta nodded. But Dick wasn't watching him, he was watching Kaldur, who was staring at him with strongly veiled curiosity. He could only decipher it thanks to the fact that he knew the way Kaldur's expressions worked. It had been six years but he still remembered.

This was perfect, he could keep an eye on Kaldur. He could figure out what the hell was going on.

No way he'd joined by choice or because he wanted to. No way. Dick wished he could up and leave the league purely because he hated the Light and what they stood for. He had grown connected to his family too much to do so, but Ra's was leaving, Manta wasn't.

"that will be perfectly acceptable," Manta said, and Dick drew his attention back to him, "Richard... is that the name you work under, or do you have an alias?"

Ah yes, an alias. He'd needed one to use in front of those that weren't high up enough to be trustworthy. Because in this business power dictated how much information you were privy to.

These people weren't powerful enough to know who he really was.

"Renegade," Dick said.

"well, I'm sure you'll be a pleasure to work with," Manta said, smile inching closer to a smirk.

"and you're sure?"

"do I look unsure?" Dick raised his eyebrows as he stared between his family, "That's. Aqualad. I'd know him anywhere."

"okay and? he's turned on the league, you did, too, it's not impossible," Slade said. Although his voice suggested he was expecting a refute from Dick.

"no. I know Kaldur, he'd never ally himself with the light."

"but with his father?" Ra's asked, hand rubbing at his chin, "you are not overly fond of the light, but we're stuck working with them till we can manoeuvre our way out."

Dick shook his head, leaning against the sideboard. Something on the dining table glittered and he moved his position so the reflection didn't annoy him.

"then he's a spy." Thalia crossed her arms, "we should alert Savage."

"should," Alex said, "but is now the right time? Maybe we haven't seen the whole picture yet, maybe it's best to observe for a moment."

"besides," Dick said, "I'm quite sure Savage knows. Maybe Luthor, and the rest are definitely suspicious. By tomorrow everyone will know for sure."

"then we've nothing to worry about," Slade said, once more playing devil's advocate. He knew there was more to this.

"If I come forward to say he's definitely a spy it'll give me away as well, which will be worse because I've been operating for three years as an affiliate. It won't have good after effects." Dick bit his lip as he thought on it. the league would be disconnected entirely, and worse then held in contempt.

"we can't just let him feed information to the heroes," Thalia said.

"or can we?" Ra's asked the crowd. They looked at him incredulous, he shrugged, "if the Justice League take the light down we don't have to worry about them attacking us once we leave. We could even help if we so wished. If we do nothing we can gauge the situation, we can play both sides."

Dick shared a look with him, "We help the heroes take down The Light for us, or we can turn on them at the end to get them off our tail."

"exactly."

"then it's a good thing you'll be stuck working with him," Alex grinned.

"not necessarily," Dick said, "he's just as likely to recognise me."

"you sure? You've changed a good bit in the past six years," Alex said, holding her hands in the air about a foot and a half apart, "by like this much."

"wow, ouch," Dick drawled.

Thalia snorted, "I do agree, I think you're safe as long as you go by Renegade and act carefully. He may not even recognise you without a mask. Besides, it is just one of them, he may push the thought away as a delusion and distraction."

"and you can always stab him if he gets too troublesome," Slade said.

"that is a horrible idea."

Manta shared one level of extravagance with the rest if the Light- he had an appreciation for the class system of a dictatorship. Unfortunately.

Once he landed his stuff was taken- probably to be searched through with a fine tooth comb, then eventually dropped wherever he'd be staying.

The small ship he had entered on submerged to meet with Manta's underwater system of submarines, the whole thing creaked and groaned as it connected to the main thing and pressurised. He got a nod from one of Manta's men and he walked through the door to the larger ship. His ears didn't even pop.

He took in the area quickly, it seemed like a giant hall with doorways that could take on other ships- the equivalent of a landing pad. Dick located Manta and Kaldur further down and walked over, dropping his hood and the face mask over his mouth, leaving the eye-covering. He was no longer in the company of people who knew him, he had an identity to keep.

So he had to slip into Renegade. He usually only had to do that for missions, short periods of time, this would be awhile. Perfect.

"Renegade," Manta acknowledged, "1400 hours, on the dot, impressive."

"I aim to impress," Dick said smoothly.

"then I'll be sure to set my expectations high." Manta gestured Kaldur over, "I'll let you and my son introduce yourselves properly. I understand your position with Ra's is as a personal guard, so I'll make the transition easy. You'll be working with Kaldur, if he is hurt," Manta held a finger in Dick's face, "I will hold you accountable."

Dick had to hold back his mumble of 'great'.

Manta walked off and Dick turned to Kaldur, completely at a loss as to how to handle this. He'd thought he could do it, thought he could pretend. standing there and looking at his friend proved him wrong.

Kaldur seemed plenty happy to take the lead, however, thankfully.

"You know my name already. and you would be Richard..." he trailed, waiting for a last name.

"Just Renegade will do," Dick said, holding a hand out for Kaldur to shake, "on mission and all."

"understandable," Kaldur said, going for a forearm clasp instead of a handshake, Dick couldn't be surprised, Kaldur always went for the overdramatic approach, even if no one expected it.

"I'm guessing your job is less paperwork based, more practical."

"thankfully," Kaldur said, "we're headed to Malina island in three hours. Your gear will be moved to our ship, I'll give you a tour before dispatch."

Kaldur lead Dick to another one of the docking halls and onto a ship. He showed him the officer's mess hall, computer systems, the bridge, the engine room, everything till they were at the officer's quarters. He pointed out where his own place was in case of emergency then lead him to where Dick would be staying.

"you'll want this," he handed him an earbud, "we keep a tight ship communication wise."

Dick eyed it, he'd run some scans in case, but for now he placed it in his ear.

"any questions?"

"any suggestions on homework before we land at Malina?"

"Homework?" Kaldur blinked.

Dick snorted and shook his head, "research, what do I need to know? We keep a tight ship at the league as well."

"research? Nothing much. I'll have the schematics of the base and such sent to you, otherwise, you should be fine."

"understandable."

Kaldur made to walk away but held back, "that tight ship, how far does it extend?"

Dick gave him a small smile, "depends." He leaned against his door.

"on what?"

Dick shrugged, "your reaction."

Kaldur raised an eyebrow, "it's rather unsurprised so far."

Dick allowed himself one grin, only because no one but Kaldur was there, and maybe also because he couldn't help but ease up around an old friend- a habit he'd have to break and fast.

"well, let's just say my access to information is immense."

"Then I'll preface this mission with a warning," Kaldur said, his demeanour changed entirely, "anything in my past is no indicator of my present."

Dick's face fell, "evidently."

Kaldur's eyes turned vaguely... accusatory? No. curious, but he was mad about it, or slightly volatile in some fashion. it reminded Dick of when Bruce would realise he didn't know something and be very cross.

Dick didn't have time to decipher the expression, a crackle came over the comms.

"beginning pressurise and disconnect in fifteen minutes. Sir, we await you at the bridge."

"acknowledged," Kaldur said over the comm, then turned to Dick, "I assume you don't need to gather anything before this mission officially begins?"

Dick stood from the wall and pulled the bottom half of his mask up over his nose, "lead the way."

Artemis would never say she enjoyed being team leader. Hell, she wasn't even supposed to be.

It was supposed to be Conner who stood up, or M'gaan. How had she been landed with the role? Kaldur had barely managed to take the weight of it, the effects of Jason dying under his leadership-

Well, hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with that. This was a short stint till Batgirl could fill in. why she wasn't already nominated Artemis had no fucking clue but now she was stuck running things, all the while she planned to die soon and go undercover with Kaldur.

Perfect.

But at least there was a backup ready, at least Barbara was in on the act.

At least the team had a leader, because for a while it seemed like no one would stand up for the role. She'd grit her teeth and offered, holding back tears as a feeling of fear and guilt had cemented itself in her and started growing. But it was too late to go back, too late to change things.

Too late in general.

She heard a dull thud, quiet, but in the silence of the warehouse it was plenty.

She took a deep breath as she turned towards it, looking down the shadowed hallway of shelves.

"Wally?" her voice was a whisper, two seconds from breaking.

Kaldur stepped out, wearing the Black Manta gear that set the guilt in Artemis twisting.

"hi," she said, not quite knowing what else she could say.

She heard the sound of paper moving and Wally was there, silver and magenta suit sparking. She could see the red scar on the side of his face peeking past the cowl.

"don't tell me you started without me," he tried to joke. They all held back cringes as they fought with the awkward tension in the room.

"never," came a voice behind Artemis, and Batgirl moved smoothly into the conversation. At the sight of everyone gathered Artemis couldn't help but sigh in relief. Everyone was still okay.

"how are things on your end, Kal?"

"all according to plan. Manta has put me in charge of a base and introduced me to the leading members of the light."

"then why does your voice sound so worried?" Artemis said. More worried than usual was really the operative statement, she was quite sure the only other way he could sound was neutral, or angry if necessary.

Kaldur's lips were set in a hard line, "they've decided to have someone keeping an eye on me. One of Ra's Al Ghul's guards, Renegade."

Artemis froze, "Renegade?"

"you've heard of him?"

"he's one of their legacy types, his dad was in the league from what I've heard. Good at what he does, really good."

"loyalties secure?" Kaldur asked with a raised brow.

Artemis blinked, "of course."

He nodded, "he seems..." he frowned, "strangely not fond of the Light. Not in any treasonous way, but he is very clearly taking orders because he has to."

"you're sure?"

"yes, completely," he said, "he seems familiar..." he trailed.

"I've heard the League of Assassins may be trying to extricate themselves from The Light," Artemis said, "maybe it's a sign."

"and maybe, he can be used," Batgirl suggested, "he could be a possible unknowing ally, if you play things right."

Kaldur nodded, "agreed." He crossed his arms, "what about your end?"

"the team suspects nothing, no one does."

"Aquaman?"

Artemis pursed her lips, "he doesn't believe it, I can tell, most of them don't want to..."

"but surface level they believe it?" Wally checked.

Artemis nodded, "yes."

"and you Wally?"

"It's hard to scout around lately, a lot of places are screwing themselves tighter than ever," he said with a frown, "but I think it looks like the best time will be the launch, as we previously thought. It looks like there's gonna be a move against it from The Light, likely thrust upon Manta's forces."

"then all steam ahead," Artemis said, the guilt shooting through her more and more.

As they watched Kaldur's ship disappear Artemis analysed the scar peeking out of Wally's suit.

"I can feel you staring," he said, eyes still trained on the ripples of water.

"I'm just not used to it," she muttered.

"it's been three years."

"doesn't matter."

Wally sighed through his nose, "I'm not used to it either."

"you doing fine? Using your powers as much as you have been lately?"

"I'm fine," Wally grunted, a little too volatile. At Artemis' look he cringed, "sorry, Barry's been on my back lately."

"I can imagine," Artemis snickered, "it's almost like going straight back into the fight immediately after finishing recovery is worrisome."

"I've been back in it for almost a year, I'm still fine."

"yes, but you were also in a coma for ages and afterwards running was almost tearing you apart," Artemis said, "I think you can forgive us considering all the exhaustion on your body."

"I'm fine, really," Wally said, a small smile on his face as he turned to Artemis, "I get a bit achy sometimes and I still can't be speedy in one part of the body while the rest remains slow, but I'm fine."

Artemis rubbed at her eyes, "okay, I trust you," she sighed as she crossed her arms and turned her face back to the water, the ripples were beginning to settle.

"how's the team?"

Artemis shrugged slightly, "the team's the team. We keep forging ahead, no matter what."

"Tim?"

"he's great," a small smile curled Artemis' lip, "not as confident in himself as he deserves to be, real bright, could probably show Dick up with a computer."

As the sentence left her mouth she regretted it. Wally winced and Artemis felt a pang in her gut. They lapsed into silence as they grappled with the emotions the name brought out.

Eventually, Artemis broke the silence, voice barely above a whisper as she stared at the ground, "any luck finding him?"

"none," Wally said, voice just as quiet. His breath seemed to shudder quietly with an oncoming sob he refused to let out.

"maybe-"

"he's not dead."

"I know," Artemis looked at Wally, frowning, "he can't be, there's no way. He's out there somewhere, we just aren't looking hard enough."

Wally went on the defence, "I'm trying," he grunted.

"I said we."

"I know what you said."

Artemis fought a scowl, "I only meant-"

"whatever," Wally said, "maybe if we send the right message he'll show up himself, to lend a hand."

"maybe."

"meanwhile, how's the search for Roy?" Wally asked.

Artemis held back the scream of frustration that wanted to bubble up, "we're closing in, but he's adamant to not be found."

"and your sister?"

"just as slippery."

"are you..." Wally trailed, hand going to the back of his neck, "gonna tell her?"

"no."

"really?"

"no," Artemis said, "she won't care anyway. She'll mourn a bit, but I was always a choice for her. She cared when she decided to. She'll show up for the funeral, that's about it."

"and your parents?"

"about the same. Mum will have some trouble, but she'll accept the apology by the end of it."

"and if there is no end of it?"

Artemis pursed her lips, "there will be."

"how can we be sure?" Wally said, "we could be at this for a long time. Kal's already been undercover for going on a year."

"we just have to be sure," Artemis said.

Wally nodded, "okay."

Kaldur was well versed at this part of the mission. He had become a professional at slipping by 'his' men with ease. Thanks to the fact his ship had its own dock for him and another for all other shuttles, he could leave and return without anyone knowing. The trip through the halls was simple, he knew the watch schedules and everything.

What he hadn't taken into account was Renegade.

He turned a corner and his new guard was leaning against the wall, cleaning a knife. one foot propped up, his shoulder digging in to the surface. His hood was down and the lower mask as well, leaving a nest of material around his shoulders. His eye mask was still on and Kaldur was almost disappointed, something about them made Kaldur feel like he knew this person. It was the same feeling he had when he saw Wally or Artemis- they were safe harbour, a break from everything.

He kicked himself, his mind was still relaxed after talking with his friends. It didn't help that Renegade's voice sounded so familiar. He didn't understand it. he'd had a double take when he'd heard it at the meeting. Once sound escaped his mouth Kaldur had been put on edge- there was something different about this assassin. He didn't know what it was, but he'd figure it out.

"what are you doing up?" Kaldur interrogated. He was supposed to be the leader here, he had to keep his act up.

Renegade shrugged, "I'm a bit of an insomniac."

"and your solution is to traipse through the halls?"

"I'm sorry, is that against the rules?" He asked, grinning.

Kaldur let it slide, "no, but questionable."

"says the one who just arrived back on his own ship, without telling anyone he'd left."

It was at this sentence that Kaldur remembered there were no camera's that would see them at this position, they were just outside the line of sight.

"are you questioning my actions?"

Renegade rose an eyebrow, "was I not making it obvious enough?"

Kaldur had to fight a smile- what was it about this assassin that made it so hard to keep up the ruse?

"it's confidential." Kaldur settled for.

"according to who?"

Kaldur narrowed his eyes in a glare. Renegade snorted at it. when Kaldur didn't let up he stood from the wall and returned Kaldur's glare with his own. Kaldur almost stumbled back at the sight of it, a dark glare that reminded him of Batman.

"normally I wouldn't care too much, but Manta made his view clear," Renegade said, voice dark, "you get hurt, it's on me," he poked Kaldur in the chest, "I have dealt with Thalia's son for years, I will not hesitate to drug you to stop you from getting yourself killed."

"I'll keep it in mind," Kaldur said, trying to match up with renegade's dark tone and demeanour, he was quite sure he was falling short, "but unless you forgot, I run things around here."

"and unless you forgot," Renegade smirked, "my name literally means 'to rebel'."

"more like 'to betray'," Kaldur countered.

"which would you prefer?"

Kaldur's eyebrows shot up before he could control them. He schooled his expression.

"I'd prefer you to leave me to my autonomy, as this is my ship," he said.

Renegade stepped back with a shrug, "forgive me for my concern," he bowed overdramatically as he stood to the side, gesturing for Kaldur to walk by him, "sir."

Kaldur walked by, not sparing another glance till he was about to turn another corner.

"Renegade." he looked back at the man over his shoulder.

Renegade tilted his head as he looked to Kaldur, hands on his hips.

"question me again and you'll spend the night in the brig."

Renegade grinned, shaking his head as he laughed. Kaldur turned and walked away.

Keeping this assassin off his back would be more difficult than expected.