Thanks for your powerstones!
***
"Santa Prisca is no longer ours."
The moment the teens tied the white-faced man beside a tree, those were his first words, causing the group to look at each other in confusion and shock.
"What do you mean?" Aqualad asked with a frown.
"Exactly what I said. The Cult of Kobra swooped in and took over the land. I tried to fight them, but... they have a warrior who bested me in battle," the man said.
"So the Cult of Kobra took over the island?! No wonder 'Venom' sales stopped!" Robin muttered.
"What should we do now?" Kid Flash asked the team.
"....."
Gogeta silently walked to the man and squatted. "So, how strong can you rate this warrior of theirs?"
"Hey, Gogeta, this is a covert mission! Covert!" Kid Flash shouted, already predicting what Gogeta was about to do.
"I mean..." Gogeta turned and looked at the team, "...are you just content with this piece of news? Aren't you curious why the Cult of Kobra took over Santa Prisca Island and isn't distributing 'Venom' any longer?"
"Uh..."
"If we just call the League, what's the difference between us and kids?" Gogeta added.
"..."
"I agree with Gogeta," Megan said.
"Yeah. I have to side with the big guy, too," Robin said, and the three consisting of him, Megan, and Gogeta silently stared at Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy.
"They're right," Superboy sided with the three.
Aqualad chewed his lip for a second before he sighed. "We'll continue the mission. No informing the League, but remember we're still on a covert mission—no engaging till it's necessary." His eyes stared at Gogeta as he said his last words, causing the Saiyan to click his tongue in annoyance.
"Ugh, why do I feel like this is the prequel to a disaster?" Kid Flash muttered.
"You want to gather information covertly?"
"Hm?"
The team turned to the tied man, who smirked.
"I can help you complete your covert mission."
"And what makes you think we'll believe you?" Kid Flash asked with folded arms.
Gogeta turned to Miss Martian. "Can you read his mind?"
"I'll try," Miss Martian said and walked to the man. Placing two fingers beside her ear, her eyes glowed white, but after a while she shook her head. "I can't read his mind. He's reciting fútbol scores en español. This would take a while"
"Ah, ah, ah, chica. Bane's mind is not that easy to read," the man smirked. "But it's not that complicated. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
***
The now-freed man led the teens through the forest to a slope, where he pointed downwards.
Gogeta spread his ki sense, and Robin took out binoculars; the scene below became visible to the duo.
"Tsk, as I expected, the situation is really complex," Gogeta said with a click of his tongue.
Robin chimed in from the side. "True. A buy is going down, but if Kobra's not selling to the usual suspects—"
"Then we need to identify that buyer," Aqualad said, completing Robin's words.
"—then they're selling to someone new, or maybe not selling at all. Look, they're loading those crates onto trucks headed to the opening of a mine."
"Yeah, just what I was thinking," Kid Flash said.
"Yeah, you're the thinker," Robin said with a smirk, getting a dry look from Kid Flash.
"Sarcasm, dude?" Kid Flash spread his hands and smiled. "A real leader would focus on getting answers."
Gogeta shook his head and turned to the man, who had walked to an entrance obstructed by a huge rock.
With bulging muscles, the man raised the rock and tossed it aside, then turned to the teens.
"Answers are this way," the man said, pointing to the revealed entrance of a mine, then he walked in.
"So, now El Luchador is our leader," Kid Flash said sarcastically, receiving a nudge from Robin.
***
The hallway of the mine was dimly lit. Walking for a few minutes, 'El Luchador' approached a metal door and pressed his fingerprint on it. The light on the door turned green and it slowly opened. Walking through the door, the group approached another metal door.
Gogeta, without being asked, expanded his ki sense.
"It's all clear," he said to the group and opened the door, revealing a hall filled with steel pipes and steel barrels.
The team stepped out, and Robin jumped, disappearing among the steel constructs. Then Kid Flash placed his goggles over his eyes.
"I'll get that intel before Boy Wonder!" he said and ran off.
Gogeta's ki sense still active, he sensed multitudes of ki in one place and he frowned.
"This way," he said and led the trio to the entrance of the factory.
"It's a massive shipment," Aqualad said with shock.
"Yeah, but it's not the Venom they're shipping," Superboy muttered.
"Maybe freshness counts?" Megan muttered.
"A ki is coming from above."
"Helicopter's coming."
Gogeta and Superboy said at the same time, and on cue, a massive cargo helicopter slowly landed on the helipad. A man wearing a hockey mask stepped out.
He approached the group of red-robed figures and talked to the one who clearly looked like the leader of the cult. The hidden group squinted, staring at the man, but Gogeta's gaze was fixed on the massive figure standing beside the leader.
Miss Martian turned to the group. "I'll go check out what they're saying."
Aqualad's brows furrowed for a moment before he nodded. "Okay."
"Be safe," Gogeta said to her.
Miss Martian's cheek flushed and she nodded shyly before she became invisible and flew to the gathering of the Cult of Kobra.
"Let's go to a higher site," Aqualad said, and the four stealthily climbed onto a bridge, patiently waiting for Miss Martian. Soon, her voice echoed in their mind.
"Aqualad, sending you a telepathic image of the buyer now."
Aqualad's brows furrowed before his eyes widened slightly. "The buyer is Sportsmaster?!"
Aqualad pressed the earpiece in his ear. "Aqualad to Red Tornado. Do you read?" Yet as he waited patiently, there was no response.
"Ugh, can't reach the League, Robin, or Kid. Comms are jammed. We need a plan now," Aqualad said.
"I have a suggestion," Bane suddenly said.
Before the teens could react, he jumped from the bridge to the ground. Before the two thugs could react, he easily subdued them, though one shot still reverberated through the air.
"I listened to orders, you know," Gogeta said to Aqualad, then turned and looked at the window with an eager smile.
"Rargh!" A roar spread through the night as the massive being who was standing beside the leader of the Cult of Kobra burst through the back glass, stepping on and destroying the bridge that the teens stood on.
Gogeta lightly landed on the ground and smiled widely as he stared at the being.
"Come on! I'm riled up!"
***
Thanks for your powerstones!