Washington D.C.

November 29, 21:00 EST

"It's good to see that we're all here and accounted for," Batman said as he looked over all of the groups. They were all geared up for a stealth mission. "Remember, do not confront anyone. Chances are there won't be enough of you to combat them."

Batman tapped some keys on the computer, and one of the zeta tubes whirred. "This one goes to Ashgabat," he said, "Gamma Squad, you're up."

Bumblebee and Guardian walked towards the zeta tube with Beast Boy balking grumpily behind them.

"Are you sure you can't put me in alpha squad?" Beast Boy complained as they stood at the mouth of the tube. "Just swap me out with Static. I don't think he has enough experience for this kind of thing."

"Maybe I'm on Alpha Squad because I don't complain all the time," Static said.

"Well, it wouldn't make much sense if you complained at being on Alph-"

"Let's go," Mal said as he dragged Beast Boy into the zeta tube by his arm.

Batman grumbled to himself. That boy never shut his mouth, did he? He turned back to the keyboard and programmed the zeta tubes for Buenos Aires.

"It's your turn, Alpha Squad," he said.

The six of them stepped up to the base of the tube. It whirred and glowed with a bright yellowish light as they stepped in one by one. Batman watched them carefully, studying their body language. They all seemed confident and prepared. he was convinced that this mission would go well.

B - 2 - 5 Arsenal.

The room was silent after the computer spoke the last name. They were anxious to get the information from the Light. The Light had caused too many troubles, and the whole team was ready to get anything that could help them take down the organization. The clicking of the keyboard echoed throughout the large chamber.

"Delta Squad," said Batman.

Nightwing and Zatanna stepped towards the tube. They seemed so small, just the two of them, but Batman knew how much power each of them possessed. The tube began to glow again.

"After you," Nightwing said, standing to the side and gesturing towards the tube.

2 - 5 Zatanna.

Nightwing turned his head with his trademark smirk and a jaunty wave, "See you guys tomorrow."

B - 0 - 1 Nightwing.

Batman turned to the remaining four, "Beta Squad, there is still a good chance that the Light may be in Carson City. You all know that stakes of this mission, and it may all lie on you. Be careful and gather evidence." Batman clicked on the keyboard, and the zeta tube whirred and glowed for the fourth and final time. "Good Luck."

They all stepped through one by one, and the computer vocalized their designations.

B - 2 - 0 Robin.

B - 0 - 4 Superboy

B - 2 - 2 Blue Beetle

B - 0 - 5 Miss Martian

Carson City

November 29, 19:10 PT

The team was teleported into an old back alley. The path out was a very thin crack between two buildings, so not many people would come back there. The crack was too small for anyone but a small child to fit through, so M'gann flew up to the top of one of the buildings. Tim was close behind her, scaling the wall, and Jaime was carrying Conner. He could've jumped to the top of the building, but it would have made just a little too much noise.

Jaime looked out over the city, "So... Where are we supposed to go now?"

"Batman sent me the location of the building," Tim said, turning on the holographic computer in his wrist. "It's an old, abandoned office building not too far from here."

They leaped down from the buildings and onto the sidewalk. The sun had gone down recently and the night was cold. The wind blew harshly, bending the trees on the devil strips, and a light rain blew straight into their faces. Tim shivered.

Jaime laughed, "That's why you need to get yourself a fancy suit of armor like mine."

"Sorry, I'd prefer acting on my own free will," Tim retorted.

"Hey back off the scarab, man. We're cool now. He doesn't try to control me; he just gives good advice," Jaime said.

"We only have a bit farther to walk," Tim said, changing the subject.

"It's not as busy as I thought it would be," M'gann said. "This is the capital of Nevada. You'd think there'd be more people around."

"I'll take that as a bad omen," Conner interjected. The gloomy weather seemed to have put him in a bad mood.

They walked down the near empty streets, ducking into an alley whenever the occasional civilian appeared, for a few more minutes until Tim spoke, "This is the place. Superboy, use your infrared vision. Jaime, scan the building."

"There are only two people in there," Conner said.

"Yeah, that's all I'm getting," said Jaime. "Maybe they're just building surveyors or something like that. Why don't you look into it M'gann."

"M'gann?" Tim said. He was standing in front of her and waving his hand across her face. "The psychic link is broken. She must be in some sort of trance."

"And that must mean we're dealing with another psychic," Conner said. "I have a pretty good guess at who it is."

"I'll check the window," Tim said as he crept closer to the building and peered carefully through the first story window. Tim returned after a brief glance. "If you were guessing Psimon, you were correct. I didn't have a good enough angle to see who the other guy was."

"I've never met this Psimon guy, but I say we take him out while he and M'gann are locked in a brain battle," Jaime suggested.

"It's our best bet at taking him out, but I don't feel comfortable charging in while we don't know who the second person is," Tim said.

"Well, we can't wait all night. Let's go in through the second story and sneak up on them from the stairs," Conner said.

"Sounds as good a plan as any," Tim said. He ran towards the building and took one jump that got him high enough to grab the second story sill. He then perched himself like a bird on the window sill, turned the lock with his knife, and pushed it open. Jaime and Conner followed him.

Time slowly and stealthily opened the door and searched the hallway, confirming that the only people in the building were the two on the main level. The three of them found the stairwell and walked down one floor. Tim motioned for him the rest to stay back while checked the door. He turned the knob and cracked the door just enough to see through to the room.

Tim whipped his head back to face his partners and was about to mouth something but he was slammed into the other two by some invisible force. Conner pushed Tim off of him and charged into the room.

"You okay, hermano?" Jaime said as he quickly pulled Tim to his feet.

"I'm alrigh-" Tim was cut off by the hulking mass that was Superboy being hurled through the wall.

Jaime blasted a sonic cannon towards their enemy, but it was deflected by a sort of invisible force field. "That doesn't make sense," he said. "My sonic cannons break through almost anything."

"It's magic," Tim said. "It's Wotan. I saw him."

"Wotan? Never heard of him," Jaime said.

Tim sighed, "Member of the Injustice League. Evil immortal sorcerer."

"We don't have time for introductions," Conner said as he tossed a large piece of drywall off of him. "Focus on Psimon first. M'gann has the best chance of taking out Wotan."

Conner charged in again, but was surprised to find that he was not thrown back again. Psimon stood alone in the room. "No sign of our sorcerer," he said as he turned to the others.

Suddenly, Psimon blinked and turned towards them. "Aw, did he ditch you guys. He must have found someone better to mess with."

"How did you-" Conner began to ask, but he stopped in horrified realization. "Miss Martian! Wotan has her. Go!" he said, turning to his companions. "See if you can find her!"

"Oh, that's no use. They're probably long gone by now," Psimon interrupted. "Besides, I don't think letting you escape is really an option. Psimon says 'stay put.'"

All three of them stopped what they were doing and found that they could not move.

"Good," Psimon said. "Now, Psimon says 'fight.'" They all turned towards Psimon, ready to make the most of his order. Psimon smiled, "'Each other.'"

Tim, Conner, and Jaime fell under Psimon's mental domination. Some part of them, deep inside, was screaming to stop, but they had no choice but to fight. Their minds were clouded by a single order: to take each other out.

Conner charged at Tim, who skillfully flipped over him, throwing two explosives at Superboy's back. The force pushed Conner into an ultimate faceplant, denting the floor. Blue Beetle shot a giant staple at Robin's legs, which resulted in another faceplant. Superboy stumbled to his feet, but Blue Beetle's fist transformed into a plasma cannon that blasted Conner in the chest. He was thrown across the room and through another wall.

By this time, Time was on his feet and wielding his bo-staff. He deflected another of Jaime's staples and smoothly rushed towards his opponent. Tim whacked Jaime on the head with his staff, but it had no effect on the suit. Blue Beetle grabbed the staff, snapped it in two, and tightened a grip around Tim's neck. Robin's face started turning red as he kicked and jabbed at Jaime's armor. Soon, Tim had fallen unconscious. Within a few more seconds, he would be dead.

Wait, Jaime Reyes! a voice said inside Blue Beetle's head. The Robin is our ally. He must not be terminated.

"We must fight," Jaime said, although his grip on Tim's neck relaxed slightly.

"Yes, that's right. Keep going," Psimon said. "This is fun to watch.

Don't you understand, Jaime Reyes? This man is controlling you, said the scarab. I thought we had promised each other never to be controlled by external forces again. We were freed from the Reach, but now you give this man your will.

"I don't give it to him," Jaime said. "He takes it." He dropped Tim, who crumpled to the floor.

"Hmm," Psimon said. "Now this is interesting. Who are you talking to?"

We have spent the past four months fighting together, as one, but now do not have your will. Give me full control, Jaime Reyes. This man cannot control me, said scarab.

Jaime knew that he could do nothing but fight. Only scarab had the power to escape Psimon. He let scarab take control.

Scarab's first move was to attack Psimon, but he was interrupted by Superboy, charging out of the new hole in the wall. Scarab used a direct blast with a sonic cannon. Superboy screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his ears. The sonic attack did not cease until Superboy lay motionless on the ground.

See, Jaime Reyes, scarab said. Your friends are now neutralized but not permanently harmed.

"Argh, this is Reach technology," Psimon said. "You're one of those beetles."

Psimon looked around. He was alone and fighting someone he couldn't control. "Uh, Wotan? A little help would be nice," he said.

Blue Beetle shot a staple and secured Psimon to the wall. His hand transformed into a scythe and pointed at Psimon's neck.

"Where are you keeping Miss Martian?" he interrogated.

"A little help now," Psimon said.

Suddenly, Wotan appeared out of nowhere.

"I apologize," he said. "Once the martian was out of your range, she was a bit of a challenge, but the situation is under control."

Wotan grabbed Psimon's arm and muttered an incantation, and in the blink of an eye, they were both gone.

Jaime felt his control coming back to him. "What do we do now, scarab?" he asked.

We take these two back to the Hall of Justice.

"But M'gann was captured," Jaime said.

The martian will have to wait, Scarab said. It will be easier to rescue her if we have more of a team. Report back to the Hall of Justice.

Jaime grabbed both Tim and Conner by their shirt collars and flew out of one of the holes in the wall. He landed back in the narrow alleyway and pressed a brick in the wall.

The computer spoke, Recognized:

B - 0 - 4 Superboy

B - 2 - 0 Robin

B - 2 -2 Blue Beetle

I hope you guys enjoyed the extra action.

We might not figure out what happens to M'gann for another one or two chapters.

Once again, all feedback will be graciously accepted and considered.

- Napsack