Chapitre 78: Choosing a Leader
Thursday 22nd July 2010, 21:00.
Caribbean Sea,
Santa Prisca.
"So, who exactly are these guys?" Esau asked as he looked down at the unconscious Kobra Cultists.
"Kobra Cult." Batgirl answered. "They're a group of cultists that started off pretty small, not really doing much of anything besides the odd incident here or there. That was until they got taken over by the current Kobra, Naga Naga who started using science to make some serious waves. They're still not major, but they're still a threat." She then turned to Esau with a teasing smile. "Didn't you say you found religion a few days ago, maybe you should join?"
"Very funny." Esau chuckled. "You're full of jokes, aren't you?"
"More than you." She winked that made Esau smile, but the moment of levity was just that, a moment. Both were very aware of the situation they were in and despite a little joke, they quickly became serious once more and focused on the situation at hand. "What's your take on all this?"
"Think it's pretty obvious," Esau replied. "Kobra Cult and Bane are fighting over the distribution of Venom."
"Sounds about right." Batgirl agreed. "More than likely Kobra Cult have succeeded in taking over the factory and supply lines, stockpiling Venom for something else. Bane and these men here are probably the only ones left on the island mounting a resistance. They have been at odds for a while from what I remember. Guess Kobra Cult has decided to finally make a move, which is strange considering Bane is not someone most groups want to mess with."
Esau rose a brow. "Why not?"
"He's not just a muscle-bound brute, he's also incredibly smart. He beat Batman and broke his back in the process." Esau whistled lowly, already getting a picture of what kind of guy Bane was and he did not like the picture. "But afterwards, his entire operation was destroyed by the Justice League publically. A warning of what happens should they do that to any member of the Justice League. Yet, a few months later, Bane returned and he was stronger than ever with connections to governments and having military contracts that gave him a sort of diplomatic immunity."
"I'm guessing he's supplying Venom to the military?" Esau wondered and Batgirl shrugged.
"I can only assume so, but we haven't found any proof."
Esau sighed, the true gravity of the situation beginning to dawn on them. "Either way, we've found ourselves in the middle of a war and the side that by all accounts had all the power is beaten."
"I believe Batman would have told us if a dangerous extremist faction had taken over Santa Prisca's Venom operation." The two turned to see Aqualad walking towards them, a frown on his face and arms crossed over his chest, just as concerned as they were by the unfolding crisis.
"But it explains why the supply of Venom has been cut off." Robin also agreed with their assessment as he came to stand with them, as did the rest of the team moments later. "Kobra is stockpiling Venom for some reason, it's possible that Bane has proved enough of a problem that they haven't been able to transport shipments elsewhere, but I doubt it."
Kid Flash brushed it off. "We get it, Kobra wants to make a bunch of super cultists, case closed. Let's go back and report this to Batman."
"None of these guys is on venom, which would be the case if they were making super cultists," Robin argued and all members except for the two showed equal signs of frustration at their bickering. "No, Kobra's hoarding this stuff and I'm not leaving until I know why."
"Until you know why?" Just like they had expected, Kid Flash rose to the bait.
'For fucks sake, we don't have time for this shit.' Esau moved forwards, grabbing hold of both Kid Flash and Robin, dragging the two behind him a little ways away from the prisoners, close enough that they could still see them, but far enough away that they couldn't be heard clearly.
"Hey man, let go of me." Kid Flash argued struggling against Esau's grip much like Robin was as the rest of the team followed behind.
Eventually, Esau let the two go and they turned to glare at Esau. "What's the big idea, Typhoon?" Robin demanded and Esau released a deep breath.
"We haven't got time for you two to argue every two minutes. We have come here, uninformed and under-prepared. Mostly because some of you, couldn't be bothered to train, treating the last two weeks as a vacation." He pointedly looked to Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Superboy, his steadily rising frustration having finally got the better of him. "And now that we're on this mission, it's become even clearer to me that Batman should never have sent us on this mission in the first place without a clearly defined hierarchy. So, we're going to sort out the second problem now and the first when we get back."
There was silence between the group as each of them took in what Esauhad just said.
"Typhoon's right." Batgirl cut in, seeing that Kid Flash looked ready to argue on the principle of who Esau used to be. "Look at what's happened already, Kid Flash would have blown our cover if not for us taking these guys out and Robin disappeared without telling any of us. We need someone to take charge and lead us."
"Then let's put it to a vote." Aqualad stepped forth, receiving a nod of gratitude from Esau for his assistance, a nod he also gave to Batgirl as well. "We'll decide now and quickly before going on to complete the mission."
Once again, there was silence, each of them thinking or in some cases simply waiting.
"Well, I for one say I should lead this team." Kid Flash spoke, confident in himself and his ability to lead.
Robin, on the other hand, disagreed. "Oh really, the guy that nearly blew our cover. What a great idea."
"And I suppose that makes you our leader then, huh?" Once more, Kid Flash rose to the bait like all of them had expected. "You're just a kid?"
"And you're a mature fifteen-year-old?" Robin shot back.
"News flash, you're not Batman."
"Closest thing we've got."
As the two continued to bicker, Esau couldn't help but watch on in disbelief. "I, I have no words." He muttered as Aqualad watched on in equal disbelief. "I mean, I expected this from Kid Flash, but Robin?"
"From my own experience, Robin does tend to act more immature when around Kid Flash, but never to this degree." Aqualad responded, the two watching as the speedster and boy wonder continued to bicker in enemy territory. "I believe it may be because Robin wants to prove himself to Batman, that he can lead this team."
Esau just shook his head. "Even so, if Batman knew about this," he waved his hand in the direction of the two. "I doubt he would be impressed." Aqualad made a noise of agreement before the two decided to finally break them apart.
As this was unfolding, the others were also speaking amongst themselves, discussing who they believed should be in charge of their team. All had quickly ruled out themselves for one reason or another, they had also ruled out Robin and Kid Flash for obvious reasons. Despite the former having more experience than any of them in the hero business and being one of the smartest among them, neither was making themselves viable with the way they were acting. Their immaturity showed now proved that while skilled, he was too young to be lead or shoulder the responsibility that came with that role.
"Guess that leaves just Typhoon and Aqualad." Batgirl pointed out as the three of them watched the two boys in question break apart the bickering pair. "Question is, who?"
"I think Aqualad." Miss Martian piped up. "Kid Flash doesn't like Typhoon so wouldn't it be best to choose a leader everyone likes? Which is strange because he's nice." Neither Batgirl nor Superboy could disagree with her, but while Batgirl trusted and respected Esau's skills, she would have chosen Aqualad purely because of that reason.
It would have avoided fewer arguments in her opinion.
However, while agreeing with what she said, Superboy had his own opinion as well. "You're right, but I doubt Aqualad will accept." This drew both girls' attention to him. "Aqualad hasn't exactly expressed any interest in leading outside of issuing the occasional order."
"And when he has, it's being begrudgingly." Bargirl finished, and Superboy nodded his head to show that she had gotten it right. "So, back to square one."
Moving forwards, the three of them joined up with the other boys.
"Well, right now we've narrowed down the list to two possible candidates, Aqualad and Typhoon." Neither Kid Flash nor Robin looked happy at this, but Robin at least showed he understood why he wasn't in the running even if he wasn't happy about it. "So it just comes down to you two to decide because we can't decide out of either of you."
Both Esau and Aqualad spared a glance as if to figure out what the other was thinking.
However, a decision had to be made and it was Aqualad who made it. "My vote is for Typhoon." This sent a ripple of shock through the team, even those who had come to understand that Aqualad had no desire to lead were shocked at this. "Being a leader holds a great deal of responsibility, making the hard decisions is one of them. In my life, I can count myself lucky to not have been forced to make many hard decisions, but the hardest for me was the decision to leave Atlantis and become Aqualad."
Here, Aqualad smiled sadly at the memory of his home and more specifically a beautiful young girl he had not seen in a long time.
"I have not dealt with those decisions well, in fact, I have grown to regret that decision on many occasions." Aqualad then looked to Esau. "From what I have come to know of you and your past, you don't regret the decisions you made, only that life forced you to make them. Am I wrong?"
"...No, you're not." Esau answered reluctantly.
"That is why I think you should lead. You understand and are willing to make those tough decisions without regret. Something I would not be able to do." Aqualad explained and Esau couldn't help but smile.
While he knew Batman had wanted him to lead, Esau hadn't actually planned on leading.
In fact, he had brought the whole idea forward under the belief and hope that Aqualad would be chosen to lead the team, there was nothing Batman could have done in that regard.
'Guess I should have expected things to not go my way.' He thought in amusement before stepping forward and clasping hands with Aqualad. "Then I'll accept, but don't expect to get off too easy. I'm gonna need someone else to help me shoulder the burden of leadership."
"Then I too will accept." Aqualad responded.
Pulling away, Esau looked to the team, his team now he supposed, not too sure on how to feel about that. "So, what's the plan?" Bargirl asked.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Carrots123
Carrots123 So, another chapter is done and with it, the team now has a leader in Typhoon and we get a little history about Bane and the Kobra Cult. The idea of Bane having connections to the military and government as well as the incident with the Justice League is my own creation, but one that I think fits with him. Anyway, if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone