Beyond the Limit (DC)

The Cave was chaos—smoke curling into the air, heat pressing in from every direction. Artemis's heart pounded as she and Robin ducked behind an overturned table, coughing.

Robin's eyes flicked to the exits. "We can't win this fight head-on. We retreat."

Artemis didn't argue. They bolted for the hallway, only to freeze as a roaring tidal wave surged toward them.

"Back! Back!" Robin shouted.

The water slammed into them, hurling both teens into the wall with bone-rattling force. Before they could catch their breath, fire erupted down the corridor behind them. Heat and steam hit Artemis like a suffocating blanket.

They sprinted to the gym, Robin thumbing his comm to call the Team. Static. No response.

"Nothing?" Artemis asked.

"Nothing." Robin's jaw was tight.

They darted into the shower room. Robin twisted the knobs, water gushing down over them in a desperate attempt to ward off the flames.

But the relief didn't last—water pressure surged out of control. In seconds, the room became a flood zone.

"Time to improvise!" Robin pulled out an explosive and blasted a hole in the wall.

They staggered into the kitchen, soaked and panting. Robin was already at a terminal, fingers flying.

"Downloading the Cave blueprints," he said. "We're going up—air vents."

The two climbed in, crawling through metal tunnels that groaned under distant impacts. Heat shimmered ahead.

A fireball streaked past. "Move!" Robin barked, leading them into the temperature control room—only for the flame-casting attacker to burst through the opposite door.

"Other way!" Artemis yelled.

They scrambled into another vent, Robin dropping a charge to block pursuit. Inside, he pulled a device from his belt. "I'm disabling motion and heat sensors—buy us time."

As he worked, he accessed the security feed. "Let's see who—"

The footage showed Kaldur approaching Conner, Megan, and Wally, his voice low, questioning their loyalties. Before they could process it, the group was ambushed off-camera.

"They wiped all four cameras," Robin muttered. "Clever."

"What about them? Are they—"

"They're alive," Robin said firmly. "They have to be."

He scanned the blueprints. "Shortcut to the hangar. Let's move."

They crept into the library, Robin tugging at a shelf to search for a hidden passage.

A voice echoed down the hall. "Robin? Artemis?"

Artemis's eyes widened. "Red Tornado!" She sprinted toward the voice—

Only to freeze as she came face-to-face with a tall, blue-metal android whose face mirrored Tornado's, but colder.

"I am Red Torpedo," it said flatly.

Before it could grab her, Robin yanked her back. "Not friendly!"

Flames burst from the opposite side of the hall—another android, red-armored and wreathed in fire.

"I am Red Inferno," it announced.

The two teens bolted, diving into a hidden passage. Artemis's voice shook. "They're as powerful as Tornado! How are we supposed to—"

An intercom crackled. Red Torpedo's voice was calm, almost polite. "Your teammates are alive. Surrender in ten minutes, or they die."

In the hangar, Megan and Kaldur hung weak in a cage of fire. The Sphere was pinned to the wall. Conner and Wally were bound in warped metal, water up to their chins.

Artemis and Robin pushed toward the hangar—only for another tidal wave to smash into them. Robin shoved his respirator into Artemis's hand.

"Share," he ordered, before being yanked under.

A cold grip latched onto Artemis's ankle. Red Torpedo.

"Let her go!" Robin snarled, snatching a drifting arrow and jamming it into the android's eye. Sparks burst, and Torpedo released her. Robin dragged them both upward, planting explosives as they surfaced.

They tumbled into the hangar, coughing.

"Robin! Artemis!" Conner's voice was strained. "Red Inferno—!"

Flames seared overhead. They dove for cover.

"Help M'gann!" Kaldur called. "She's unconscious—barely breathing!"

Artemis and Robin swam for the stairs, only to be hemmed in by both androids. Artemis loosed one of her few arrows, Robin hurling batarangs. Torpedo deflected them—except one that lodged into the metal restraining Kid Flash.

The androids advanced from both sides. Robin and Artemis dove into the water again, surfacing in a tunnel.

"This is insane," Artemis panted. "Four of our friends with powers are down. I've got one arrow left!"

"Breathe," Robin said evenly. "I've been doing this since I was nine."

"They're machines! We can't—"

Robin's eyes lit up. "EMP. That'll shut them down."

He activated his comm. "KF, you there?"

A faint voice crackled from the lodged batarang. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Walk me through it."

"You'll have to plug it into the Cave's main generator."

They had four minutes. Robin and Artemis slipped back into the hangar, whispering to Wally to distract the androids. Robin connected the device—nothing.

"Need more metal to complete the circuit," he muttered.

Before he could find one, fire and water roared toward them. Artemis fired her last arrow in reflex.

"Run!" Robin shouted.

Artemis scrambled into the vents, peering through a gap—her stomach dropped. Robin was down, limp in Red Torpedo's grasp.

She backed away, curling up in the narrow space. "What do I do…?"

Her heel hit the floor—she'd fallen into Wally's souvenir room. Her gaze fell on a familiar mask. Cheshire's mask.

Her mind flashed back.

Six years ago. Jade stuffing clothes into a bag. Artemis pleading, "We can keep the family together."

Jade paused, glanced back. "Forgot my toothbrush."

"Dad will come after you," Artemis warned.

"I'll disappear. Like the Cheshire Cat."

She'd considered taking Artemis but shook her head. "You'd slow me down. Someone's gotta stay for Mom, huh?"

"It's every girl for herself," she'd said before leaving.

Artemis's hand tightened around the mask. "Maybe then," she whispered, "but not now."

Red Torpedo's voice echoed: "One minute."

Her eyes landed on an old arrow—the one that had saved them from Amazo.

Minutes later, she stood before the androids, head bowed. "I surrender."

As they moved to grab her, she dropped low and fired—the arrow embedding under the EMP device. Sparks erupted, and the androids froze, systems shutting down.

Megan and Conner collapsed from their fiery prison.

"She's breathing," Kaldur confirmed.

"Robin too," Artemis said, relief flooding her chest.

Robin stirred, smirking faintly. "Faked drowning. Bought you time."

The others freed Conner and Wally, though Artemis cursed under her breath when the drill failed—EMP damage.

Red Tornado flew in through the hangar doors. "Report."

They explained everything. Tornado's brows furrowed. "Other androids… like me?" He claimed he'd teleported nearby after communications failed.

The Sphere tore itself from the wall, the drill humming back to life.

"The EMP's worn off," Robin realized.

Tornado approached Red Inferno. Their hands touched—an electric charge flared. Both their eyes turned red.

Without warning, Tornado turned on the Team, sucking the air from the room. Artemis's chest burned as the world dimmed to black.

As she fell completely unconscious, the last thing she heard was the computer's sterile voice announcing, "Recognized: Starfire B-07."