chapter fifteen.
( epicentre of sorcery. )

     The Cave feels weird.

That's all Yue can seem to think of whenever she arrives from Gotham through the zeta-tube. It was weird because Red Tornado wasn't here to watch over them with his somewhat wise advice; he had been their den-mother from the very start and now he was just gone.

He attacked them and fled, and now, whenever she closes her eyes or tries to sleep at night, she's plagued by the feeling of water filling her lungs. It was morbid that at the age of sixteen, the thought of dying was at the forefront of her mind, but she can't stop it and when she steps into the hangar, all she sees is the murky water and the fires that almost killed her entire team.

The Cave doesn't feel the same after that night, it might never feel the same again now that it's weighed down by her nightmares, and she hates that. She wanted everything to go back to normal again.

"-or we could... Hey!" Wally's hand waving in front of her face snaps the girl from her thoughts.

"Sorry." She's quick to apologise, her lips curling into a sheepish smile as she glances over at him. "What were you saying?"

Wally tucks his hands into his pockets, a concerned look glazes over his emerald gaze as he stares back at her. "It doesn't matter," he says. "What's running through that pretty head of yours?"

"It doesn't matter," she repeats to him with a shrug of her shoulders.

He huffs out a sigh, then reluctantly changes the topic back to their previous conversation. "My birthday is in a month, remember?" He raises a brow.

"Like I could forget," she smiles over at her friend– friend, sometimes it seemed that was all they'd ever be. Whenever she felt like they were taking a step forward, they would suddenly take another three back and end up where they started. "Last year, you had me hang up that birthday banner in the Bat-Cave and sneak you in."

"So worth it." He grins.

"For you, maybe!" She laughs. "I got grounded for a week for disobeying the "no food near the bat-computer" rule."

"Anyways. Well, uh-" He scratches the back of his neck nervously as he averts his gaze. "We're having dinner this year. Me, mom, dad– Barry and Iris are coming, too. Uh, Jay and Joan might be there as well. I was thinking- I don't know- you should come. If you want to, I mean!"

Yue blinks in surprise. "Are you sure?" She asks, taking note of the blush spreading across his freckled cheeks as he hesitantly meets her gaze. "Family's important, I don't want to intrude on-"

"You're not." Wally cuts her off with a shake of his head. "We- I want you there."

"Then... Then, yeah! I'll be there." She smiles happily, her face heating up as she takes in the weight of his words. He hadn't asked anybody else, that much was obvious from the way he was dropping hints about wanting a surprise party all week, so it meant that much more to her.

They enter the training room, only for the smile to fall from Wally's face as his eyes land on the two League heroes supervising the team. "If Zatara's our babysitter for the week, why is he still here?" His eyes flicker from the magician to Captain Marvel. "And why is he eating my snacks?"

"They're not really your snacks when you leave them lying around the kitchen," she points out with a smile. "They're kinda the team's snacks now and I'm sure none of us are about to say no to Captain Marvel, I mean, look at him." She glances over at the League hero. "He's great."

Wally's brows furrow, though as he parts his lips to speak, the automated voice of the zeta-tube cuts him off. "Batman, Zero-Two." The machine announces as the Dark Knight enters the Cave.

He walks straight for the centre of the training-circle. "Computer, national news," he instructs the Cave's a.i system.

The holographic screen appears in front of them, with a report from the GBS news channel playing loudly. "The initial attack was short-lived but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." Cat Grant – the station's home-base reporter – announces as a video of a giant plant attacking the buildings plays behind her. "Despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."

Dick glances toward his mentor. "Should we get out there?"

"No. The League will soon have the situation under control," he answers. "That's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" Yue raises a brow as she turns to face him.

"According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra," he notes.

Wally nods, "Who combined it with Bane's venom to create Kobra-Venom.

"Which The Brain used to control his animal army," Dick adds, pointing out how their recent missions seemed to be connected.

Conner pats the head of the white wolf sitting at his side. "And upgrade Wolf," he chimes in.

"The Brain also used Inhibitor collars like the ones used at Belle Reve Penitentiary," M'gann comments with a frown.

Artemis's brows furrow as she stares up at the video of the giant plant. "Batman, is it possible that plant thing is on Kobra-Venom, too?"

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis." He nods. "The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences." Kaldur observes with a stroke of his chin. "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with one another worldwide."

"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of Secret Society of Supervillains." His voice takes a grim tone, "The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"Got that right." Dick lifts his gaze from his gauntlet, then pulls up a few more screens. "Plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei-" Each screen cuts out with static.

"Uh, Rob..." Yue frowns as she stares up at the static-filled screens surrounding the team. "What's happening?"

"It's not me!" Dick panics, furiously tapping away on the buttons of his gauntlet. "Someone's cutting into the satellite signal- all satellite signals!"

As the static begins to die out, Yue feels her entire body stiffen. A quiet gasp falls from her lips as a white painted face appears in the centre of the camera. "Ladies and gentlemen," The Joker grins menacingly. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement from-" He turns the camera around, revealing a group of heavy-hitter League enemies. "The Injustice League!"

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities." Count Vertigo steps forward, his head held high. "If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion american dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit, but the longer your government waits..."

The Joker wraps his hand around the corner, turning it around to bring his red grin into frame. "The more we get to have our jollies," he finishes Count Vertigo's sentence with a laugh.

The broadcast cuts out, leaving the teen heroes to stare back at the empty screen in silence. "Roger that, Aquaman," Batman says into his comm-device. "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback but it won't come to that."

Dick rewinds the recording of the Injustice League, pausing it when all of their faces come into frame. "Count Vertigo, The Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra-Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Adam and Wotan," he lists the names of the villains. "Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced."

"There's your secret society," Wally tells Batman.

"Not so secret anymore." Yue's hands drop to rest on her hips as her eyes scan over the faces of the Injustice League. "If this is their big reveal, I think there's more to come than just giant plants."

"Perhaps after India, they realised we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur guessed.

"Yeah, that was their mistake." Wally smirks, then hits the palm of his right hand with the fist of his left, "Right now, I say we go kick some plant-creature butt."

"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman reminds them. "I have a different job for this team."

The speedster sighs. "Man- ow!" His hand shoots up to rub over his bicep as Yue retracts her fist.

Batman spares the two a disapproving look, before continuing to debrief the team. "With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system," he informs. "Your mission is to destroy it."

Zatara's eyes widen and he steps forward. "You realise what you're asking them to do," he says in disbelief.

The Dark Knight glances at his comrade. "They're ready."

Yue doesn't miss the disapproving frown that crosses the magician's face, but her mind is too caught up with her mentor's words to care. They're ready– no, it's more than that. He believes they're ready. It was all she wanted from the man that took her in three years ago, for him to admit that he trusts her to handle something bigger than the average petty crook on her own.

"Ready? Ready for what?" Wally asks with a raised brow, only for Artemis to reach over and punch his shoulder. "Ow! Will you two quit that-?"

"Hello, Wally!" Artemis says sarcastically. "If the big guns are fighting the plants, who do you think we'll be fighting?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll..." He trails off, his eyes widening in realisation as he stares up at the photo of the Injustice League. "Oh."

"Well, Batman, I trust you are correct." Zatara sighs.

Batman's eyes flicker from the team to Zatara. "I trust you can locate the enemy."

"Indeed," the magician nods. "Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide the holo-map, I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity."

With the tap of a button, a large holographic globe emits from the screen of Dick's glove and Zatara steps toward it. The man clears his throat, then holds his hand. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros." He chants backwards as a red dot appears on the globe. "There. That is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."

"Coordinates locked in." Dick announces. "The Louisiana Bayou."

Tensions are high in the Bioship as they fly over Bayou Bartholomew; Flamebird understands it, they're nearing the central control system now. They were about to fight seven of the Justice League's biggest enemies, all without the help of their mentors. It was only natural to be nervous.

She sits on the right side of the cockpit, behind Kid Flash but in front of Artemis. The speedster quietly munches on his nutrients bar, then points it over in the direction of Aqualad. "What's in the duffel?" He asks.

Aqualad glances at the bag, his expression steely as he turns forward again. "Plan B," he answers stoically.

Sitting in the pilot's seat, Miss Martian groans, one of her hands resting against her forehead as she closes her eyes for a second. Superboy sits up at the sound, then turns his seat around to face the girl in concern. "You alright?" He asks softly.

"Dizzy," she answers.

Robin is the next to spin his seat around from the front of the Bioship. "Martians get airsick?" He wonders aloud.

"She does look a little greener than usual," Kid observes with furrowed brows.

Their comments bring Miss Martian to shake her head, a frown tugging at her lips. "Not me, her," the Martian corrects, causing the boys' gazes to flicker over to Artemis.

"Not me, either," the Archer answers, then leans forward to tap Flamebird's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she offers with a shrug of her shoulders.

Miss Martian braces herself against the controls. "Not them," she groans. "The Bioship. She's trying to shield us, but-" The Bioship wobbles mid-air, then, after just a few seconds, something strikes the ship from below. The team brace themselves as the Bioship barrels through the air, only to crashland in the middle of the Louisiana swamp surrounding them.

Flamebird can feel her head spinning as she lifts herself up; before any of them can collect themselves, vines begin to wrap around the Bioship, pulling it further into the swamp water. The ship rocks again as something hits the ceiling, two hands puncture through the surface and Black Adam begins to tear a hole in the Bioship.

"He's hurting her!" Miss Martian screams, feeling the Bioship's pain as if it were her own.

Superboy, unbuckling his seatbelt, lunges into the air. His fist comes into contact with Black Adam's face as he knocks the man away from the ship, only for the pressure of his jump to force the ship further underwater.

Flamebird's eyes widen and she leaps out of her seat, staring down at the water leaking into the ship. "No, no, no," she repeats to herself quietly, frozen in place as the dark water rises. She didn't want to drown, she couldn't go through that again, but her hands refused to move from her sides.

"Yue." The sound of Wally's voice snaps her out of her panicked thoughts. His hands rest on her shoulders, as gentle as the gaze boring into her own. "Take a deep breath, c'mon." She follows his instructions and sucks in a deep breath, feeling her shoulders begin to relax under his grip.

"I'm good," she breathes out, then reaches into her utility belt. The water is up to their shoulders already, so she hands the second rebreather to him and swims through the hole in the Bioship. The seven heroes, and the genetically morphed wolf, make their way out of the water and into the tree-line.

"She's in shock," Miss Martian says, staring out toward the Bioship as it curls into a ball and sinks into the water. Flamebird stands beside her, pulling her rebreather out from between her lips and tucking it back into her belt as she faces the Martian. "She'll need time to recover."

Everything begins to spin, but as Flamebird falls to the ground with the rest of the team, she realises it feels different than the attack in the Bioship. She clutches her head in her hands, groaning in pain, when Count Vertigo steps out of the shadows.

He holds one hand to his temple, while the other is outstretched in the teens' direction. Kid Flash, through the disorientation, pulls himself toward Flamebird and sits in front of her protectively. "Vertigo," he hisses.

"Count Vertigo to you, peasant." The man corrects him.

Flamebird's eyes fall shut as she tries to remember the training she had gone through for moments like this. Struck with fear-gas or Count Vertigo's ray, it was always the same; with her eyes still closed, she reaches behind her belt for a birderang and in one swift movement, throws it in the Count's direction.

The small, sharp weapon only grazes the man's cheek before digging into the tree behind him. Despite missing her shot, the man takes a step to the side and the vertigo effect dissipates. Superboy is the first to his feet, only for a quick punch from Black Adam to knock him back into the dirt.

Aqualad pushes himself up, then summons his water-bearers to syphon water from the swamp. He creates a swirling stream, then directs it toward Count Vertigo, pushing him away from the path ahead and back into the tree behind him. "Robin, Miss Martian. Disappear." He orders through the mind-link. "We will keep them busy. You two fulfil the mission objective."

Robin and Miss Martian waste no time disappearing into the swamp; the latter goes into camouflage mode, while the former takes off on foot.

Flamebird lifts herself back onto her feet, only able to take one step forward when Count Vertigo returns with a stronger wave than before. The entire world harshly spins around her until her knees finally give out. She falls into the dirt with a thud, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

Her dark eyes shoot open, a gasp falling from her chapped lips as she shoots up into a sitting position. Her chest heaves fearfully as she looks around her surroundings; her teammates, aside from Aqualad and the two who escaped earlier, were still unconscious. Her hand presses against the cool golden cage that surrounds them.

Magic, she guesses as she glances toward Wotan as he flies behind the floating cage.

"They awaken." Count Vertigo peers through the gaps. "You're certain this will hold them?"

"The cage is impenetrable," Wotan answers. "Even The Superboy has no chance of escaping."

Flamebird slides across the smooth, golden surface beneath her legs. She reaches out to grab hold of Kid Flash's shoulders, gently shaking the boy awake. He sits up with a jolt, almost slamming his forehead against her chin.

"You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts, Wotan!" Aqualad exclaims, then wraps his hands around the cage bars. The marks littered across his arms glow, for only a moment, before he huffs out a sigh and slumps against the wall hopelessly.

"Please, Atlantean." Wotan scoffs. "Do not pretend you're in my league."

The Bioship navigates its way through the night sky, only to slam into Wotan's back. The sorcerer falls into the bayou, severing his connection with the cage trapping the team. The cage disappears from underneath them and the group descends into the bayou below.

Superboy rises to his knee as Wolf begins to growl, his eyes narrow at the large white Gorilla standing in front of him. "I hate monkeys," he snarls, then charges at Ultra-Humanite.

"Ugh, I feel naked." Artemis reaches her behind her, only to groan when she realises the Injustice League had taken her bow and quiver. "And not in a fun way.

Aqualad glances behind them, his eyes narrowing up at Poison Ivy as she descends from her place among the trees. "We will make our fun as we have been trained," he tells the archer. "Manoeuvre seven!" Artemis runs toward the atlantean, pressing her foot into the palms of his hands as he tosses her up into the air. She hurtles down toward Poison Ivy, knocking the older woman off her feet.

An explosion cuts through the silent night as both Robin and Miss Martian return from the fiery building behind the team. The giant plant emerging from the ceiling is set ablaze by the contained fire, it only angers Poison Ivy as she attacks the team with a swarm of vines.

Flamebird presses her hand against the large vine and vaults over it, landing on her feet in front of Count Vertigo. As she reaches for her bo-staff, he stretches his hand in her direction; the wave of vertigo forces the girl to her knees, the world spinning around her. "You really believe you can stop me?" He taunts. "I am- Ugh!" He grunts as Kid Flash collides with his back, pushing him down into the mud.

"What was that, Vertigo? We couldn't hear you." The speedster grins.

"Kill them!" Count Vertigo shouts. "Kill them all!"

Flamebird, back on her feet, quickly side-steps as a vine punctures through the tree behind her. She lands next to Aqualad when bolts of lightning strike from the sky above; she's thrown to the ground from the impact, a scream of pain ebbing from her lips as it keeps her pinned, while Aqualad sits on one knee in an attempt to push back against the coursing lightning.

Aqualad reaches his hand forward to syphon the lightning that attacks Miss Martian. "Plan B," he orders. Miss Martian is quick to nod her head, her eyes glowing green as the Bioship flies overhead. The duffel-bag Aqualad brought drops from the ship into the mud between him and Flamebird.

She weakly lifts her head off the muddy ground, her eyes widening as they fall onto the golden glint of light shimmering from within the duffel bag. She would recognise that shape anywhere.

Her eyes scan across the bayou, then fall onto the members of her team as their pained screams echo into the night. They had no chance of stopping Wotan and the Injustice League, it was why Kaldur brought the Helmet– and as she looks around at her friends, with Klarion's warning echoing in her mind, she realises what she needs to do.

She pulls herself forward across the muddy ground and unzips the bag, retrieving the Helmet of Fate from where it had been hidden. Her eyes fall onto Wotan, who stares back at her in shock as she holds the helmet tightly in her grasp. "The Helmet of Fate!" He gasps loudly. The golden helmet in her hands stuns the sorcerer, at least enough to stop his attacks on the team as she raises it over her head.

"Flamebird, no!" Her eyes flick in the direction of Kid Flash as he shouts. "Don't!" The boy tries to take a step toward her, only for Black Adam to punch him back into the tree-line surrounding them.

Anger and desperation course through her veins as she watches, and with one final deep breath, she lowers the helmet onto her head. A bright golden flash distorts her vision, then when it fades, she finds herself no longer standing in the Bayou.

"What-" She slowly turns around, her brows furrowing as she takes in her dark surroundings. Everything around her was almost pitch-black. "-Where am I?"

"Within the Helmet." Yue can feel her heart drop to her stomach as her eyes fall onto a familiar face; Kent Nelson steps out of the shadows around them with a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Come, child. Let us see what Doctor Fate sees."

"Surrender sorcerer." Doctor Fate commands– it was odd to hear her own voice speak words she didn't intend to say. "You cannot hope to defeat a Lord of Order." Fate summons an ankh in front of him, then strikes Wotan with a beam of light. The evil sorcerer disappears for a moment, then reappears behind Fate, knocking him out of the sky with a strong blast.

Yue frowns as she walks over to the man, though while he stares at the blurry vision of the outside battle, she stares up at him. "How is this happening?" She asks quietly. "You died, back in the Tower... I held your hand, Mr. Nelson. How are you-?"

Kent sighs heavily. "Did the kid never explain why the Helmet let him go?" When Yue shakes her head, he can only sigh again. "I warned him, Doctor Fate is unlikely to release the next host who wears the Helmet."

She swallows. "I know," she answers truthfully. "Klarion said that back in the Tower, but- but I had no choice, Mr. Nelson," she turns to face him, "I need to save my friends and this is the only option."

He stares back at her, then glances toward the battle silently. Time seemed to work differently here, they had only been chatting for a moment and somehow the fight was over and the Justice League had appeared on the former battlefield.

Peering through the eyes of Doctor Fate, her own eyes she supposed, she watches as Wally sprints forward and grips Aqualad's shoulder. "How could you let her put the Helmet on?!" He shouts at their leader. "Nabu will never release her! She'll be trapped in there forever..."

The last words come out in a broken whisper that leaves her heart aching in her chest as she stares out at Wally. "Is it gonna be like this all the time?" She whispers, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she truly thought about it; maybe she could move past being stuck in a dark abyss for eternity, but she knew for certain that she wouldn't last even a minute longer staring at Wally's teary gaze.

Kent gently rests his hand between her shoulder-blades, then leans closer with his pocket-watch outstretched in her direction. "This is- was my wife, Inza." He points down at the black and white photo of a beautiful woman. "You and that boy out there, you sorta remind me of my Inza and I back in the day."

Yue glances down at the photo. "Wally?" She asks, her frown only deepening as her cheeks heat up. "We're not... We're not like that." They would never get the chance to be like Kent and his wife, they would never get the chance to be anything – she would be stuck behind the helmet forever while Wally would move on with his life.

All because Batman overestimated their abilities.

All because she wasn't a good enough hero to save the team on her own.

"Maybe not yet." Kent says, as though he knew something she didn't. He closes the pocket-watch and tucks it back into his coat pocket. "When this is all over, I'll get to ascend to the afterlife and see my Inza again. But, I promise you, you'll see your Wally long before that." He strolls forward, "Nabu, release the girl!"

Yue takes a step back, her eyes widening when a Helmet identical to the one she knows she's still wearing appears in front of them. "I will not." A voice, Nabu , tells them. "You forced me to let go of the last one but no longer will I sit idly on a shelf. I require a host."

"Not her." Kent shakes his head, then gestures toward the blurry faces of the team as they surround her real body. Dick is forced to hold Wally back as the boy continues to shout at Aqualad, who seems to stare at her dejectedly. M'gann struggles to hold back her tears, leaning into the warmth of Artemis's embrace while Superboy stands off to the side sadly. "Look at them, Nabu." He pleads. "She has people who love her, as I once did. Do not steal this child's life out from under her."

"I will not be placed on an empty shelf for another fifty years." Nabu repeats himself. "This world needs order. This world needs Doctor Fate."

"I will continue to wait with you, old friend." The old man offers with a small smile. "I will stay here in the Helmet until you find a suitable host, but until then, release the girl."

"What?" Yue's head snaps in his direction. "This isn't- You can't stay here! Inza is waiting for you, remember?" He promised her she'd see Wally long before he saw Inza, but she didn't think it would happen like this. " I can stay, I can be Doctor Fate for a little while longer."

"You have a long life ahead of you, kid. Don't throw it away for an old fool like me." He sighs in content, "The good thing about eternity is that it's eternal. My Inza will be there waiting for me no matter how long I take to catch up, just like your boy is out there."

"But-" She tries to argue with him, only Nabu to chime in stoically.

"I accept." He answers the man's previous offer. "But the next time someone wears the helm, no bargain will be enough to sway me from returning order to this world."

Kent turns to face the girl standing beside him and rests his hand against her shoulder. "It was good seeing you again, kid, but some advice before you go? Don't make the same mistakes I did. Tell people you love 'em before it's too late."

Another flash of light illuminates her vision as she, Doctor Fate, removes the helmet from her head. The golden and blue suit disappears from around her, returning her back to her muddy Flamebird attire as the light vanishes. It takes a moment for her eyes to readjust to the dim lighting of the Bayou. The League and the team stand around her, most members sharing a look of relief as she smiles.

"So, I missed the fight, huh?" She jokes half-heartedly. She understood why Wally felt so off after returning from the Helmet himself. It changes people– Kent Nelson's sacrifice changes people.

A relieved grin spreads across Kaldur's lips as he places his hand on her shoulder. "I am glad you're back, Flamebird," he says softly, then his smile falters. "And I... I am sorry you felt as though you needed to wear the Helmet in my stead. It was foolish of me to bring it."

"It wasn't your fault, I chose to wear it." She replies. I'd do it again to save you all, she bites back. "Besides, bringing it was a good idea."

"I don't think Batman will see it that way." Dick chimes in, nodding his head over to their mentor. Batman stands back with the League, his arms crossed over his chest as he occasionally spares a worried glance her way. "You're in for the lecture of a lifetime when this is over."

"Better me than the rest of you?" She offers with a sheepish grin.

Wally is the next to dash forward, his arm in a green make-shift sling, as he uses his other hand to pull her into a tight embrace. "Nabu let you go," he breathes out in disbelief. "Why did he let you go? Why did you put it on in the first place?"

Wrapped in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder, she lets the sad smile fall from her face. She couldn't answer him, she didn't want to; because she knew if she did, she would have to admit that the second she saw him in pain, she was so scared she willingly gave her life to Doctor Fate just to protect him. "Mr. Nelson helped me." Is the only answer she can provide as she pulls away.

Maybe one day she'd be able to follow Kent's advice to tell him how she felt, but for now they were only friends– and she would throw her life on the line, let an immortal agent of order control her body like a puppet, long before she'd ruin what they have.

"What you did back there was reckless!" Bruce's shout echoes through the Bat-Cave as he paces back and forth in front of the large computer screens. Yue stands at the edge of the platform, her arms crossed over her suit as she stares dejectedly at the ground.

He had been yelling for the past half-hour since returning to the Manor. Alfred forced Dick to retire upstairs with him, leaving Yue and Bruce – still wearing their hero-suits but discarding the masks in an attempt to have a face to face conversation about her actions – to engage in a shouting match in the basement.

"We've been over this, Yue." His lecture continues as he stops pacing and turns on his heel to face her. "When you put the mask on, we agreed there's no room for impulsive actions. You do not put your life on the line unless it's the only option you have!"

"It was!" Yue defends herself. "You heard Aqualad's mission-briefing, the Injustice League was kicking our asses out there!" She ignores the look he gives her as the curse word falls from her lips, "I did what I had to."

His eyes narrow into a glare. "You're benched from team missions for the foreseeable future," he states firmly.

"What?!" Her eyes widen as she shouts desperately, "Bruce, you can't do that!" She takes a step forward, her heart hammering in her chest as she watches him turn his back to her.

"I can." He says. "And I am, until you understand how risky your actions were." He sighs, his hands resting against the Bat-Computer's desk as his shoulders droop. "You were lucky tonight, Yue. You all were. But it won't always be like that... you don't always get to come back from a stunt like that."

Her brows pinch together, and though anger bubbles heavily in her veins, she reluctantly nods her head. It won't always be like that, the words ring loudly in her head. She had been so ready to accept Doctor Fate tonight, she never thought of how lucky they were to survive against the Injustice League.

Bruce was right, not everybody comes back.

"How long?" She asks. "How long am I benched?"

"A few weeks," he answers. "You'll participate in training with the team, but you are prohibited from accompanying them on missions. Do you hear me?"

She frowns, "Loud and clear."