"How did it all go so wrong so fast?" "[sighs]" "I'd say I have no one to blame but myself, except it's getting a little hard to remember exactly who "myself" is." "Thanks to this glamour charm, the whole world thinks I'm Tigress, professional assassin and trusted member of Black Manta's organization." "But I'm one of the few people the charm doesn't affect." "And when I look in the mirror, it's the only reminder I have left that I'm still Artemis." "What was I thinking?" "Wally and I really had something special together." "Leaving the whole hero thing behind so we could just be... normal." "But when Nightwing called, I couldn't say "yes" fast enough." "[grunts] [beeps]" "Tigress, report to Kaldur'ahm's quarters at once." " Yes, Boss?" " This is Psimon." "He is here to psychically repair the shattered mind of my son." " He can do that?" " Indeed, my dear." "I'll dig right in and root about, piecing his entire mental life together." "By the time I'm done, I'll know Kaldur'ahm better than he knows himself." "Perfect." "[thinking] Yeah, perfect." "If you don't mind Psimon learning all Kaldur's secrets, including the one about Aqualad and I being double agents for the Team and the Justice League." "How did it all go so wrong so fast?" "Season 2:" "Invasion Episode 13: "The Fix"" "When can you begin?" "I need to focus, set my own mental house in order before I enter his ruins." "Stay with them until the process is complete." "My son never spoke of his feelings, but his words could not hide how much he cared for you, Tigress." "I don't speak about my feelings either." "Not with words." "Your actions define you." "I respect that." "So you'll be glad to know I will take action against the Martian witch that did this to our beloved Kaldur'ahm." "[thinking] Great." "Now I have to rescue Miss Martian, too." "Long distance, no less." "I'm not very comfortable with this." "Delving into your mind, it... it is an intrusion." "You have my permission." "We must be able to trust each other." "[gasps]" "Does my smile displease?" "Is this not how humans convey friendship and put each other at ease?" "There has to be another way." "Look, I'm not sure what the Martian etiquette is here, but Green Beetle is right:" "we need to trust each other," "Which means we need to confirm he is who he says he is." "Miss M. is our only real option." "Go for it, Angelfish." "Reading this guy will be a piece of crab cake." "Please, proceed with the mind link." "[exhales]" "[thinking] Link established." "Ah..." "So you are a White Martian." "You came to Earth in order to pass as Green." "That must have been difficult." "I'm supposed to be reading you." "But your reluctance to probe deeply is clear." "You hide the specifics, but I sense you have recently had a most negative experience during a hostile mind link." "So allow me to volunteer my thoughts." "In this way, you can be sure nothing so unfortunate will occur." "Green Beetle is on our side." "All right, I'm ready." "Let's see what the weather's like in there." "Hmm." "The Martian really did a number on you, Kaldur." "Believe me, I know how it feels." "But fear not." "We'll have you up and running in..." "No time." "Something's... wrong." "My mind..." "Clouding over." "Ohh!" " You!" " Ohh!" "Uhh!" "[grunting]" "Uhh!" "Aah!" "You've drugged me!" "But why?" "Uhh!" "Psimon says:" "reveal your secrets!" "Uhh!" "Uhhh!" "Artemis!" "You're Artemis, and the drug..." "An invention of your father, Sportsmaster." "A single dose simulates catatonia, for weeks." "But you... heh..." "miscalculated... [groans]" "How quickly it takes effect..." "Ohh..." " What happened?" " [groans] I'm not sure." "He just went berserk." "Is it possible Miss Martian left some kind of telepathic virus in Kaldur's mind?" "If she did, then any telepath we might employ would only suffer the same fate." "There's still one telepath who can help us..." "Miss Martian herself." "It's our only recourse." "Send me to the mainland." "I'll bring back the Martian, and we'll force her to cure Kaldur." "Yes." "Yes, of course." "But she is dangerous." "Kaldur would never forgive me if I sent you to face her alone." " I'll take a squad of troopers." " No." "You'll take Deathstroke." "Perfect." "[thinking] Perfect..." " ♪ Become a citizen of the Milky Way ♪" "♪ By holding out your hand ♪" "♪ Grab the taste that'll make your day ♪" "♪ When sippin', you'll understand ♪" "♪ Our friends have come from far beyond ♪" "♪ Friends have come from far beyond ♪" "♪ To help us and to teach ♪" "♪ To help us and to teach ♪" "♪ Quench your thirst while we all bond ♪" "♪ Don't wait, reach for a Reach ♪" "♪ Yeah, in strawberry, mango, or in peach ♪" "♪ Reach for a Reach ♪" "From Lex Corp and The Reach." "This consumable contains the Reach's additive, which combines microscopic quantities of two chemicals." "One is a dopamine polymerase, the other an adrenaline inhibitor." "Taken over generations, they will slowly addict the entire population to Reach and make the people of Earth placid, literally incapable of revolt." "That matches up exactly with Flash and Atom's analyses of the additive sample acquired from Lex Corp." "Ah, I see." "Still I am..." "Tested." " Look, we're sorry, but..." " No, it is wise." "As they say on your world, "all cards must be off the table"." ""On the table"." "Uh..." "I mean... never mind." "Ignore me." "On the table." "Yes." "That does make more sense." "So here is my final card on the table." "My scarab informs me that the additive also contains a mitochondrial marker which works as a meta-gene tracer, allowing The Reach to identify and isolate potential superpowered individuals." "Making it easier to harvest and weaponize the meta-gene!" "Our analysis didn't reveal that." "Thank you." " Can't we go public with this?" " I'll pass it on to Captain Atom, but the League's credibility is at a record low right now." "We'll probably have to bide our time." "Good work, everyone." "Meeting adjourned." "Do you need a place to stay on Earth?" "I will find a place near Taos and attempt to blend in." "So, Angelfish, could we go somewhere private to talk?" "Um..." "Sure, La'gaan." "We can talk at my uncle J'onn's apartment in Chicago." "[gasps]" " Hermano, the night is young." " The night is over, ese." "And all I want to do is head home and catch some Zs." "How about we meet up first thing in the morning?" "You know, like, noonish?" "Sounds crash." "See you then." "Recognized:" "Miss Martian, B-0-5." "Lagoon Boy, B-1-8." "I can't wait any longer." "I have too many questions." "Why have you been avoiding me?" "Why haven't you returned my calls?" "What's going on between you and Conner?" "Nothing." "I mean, not what you're thinking." "Then what?" "Angelfish, please." "Well..." "This is awkward." "We hate to interrupt such poignant interspecies romance, but we have pressing business with the Martian." "[growls] [gasps] [grunts]" "[thinking] Artemis?" "That's you, right?" "[thinking] It's me, M'gann, and I'm here to kidnap you." "What?" "!" "[grunts]" "I need your help to save Kaldur." "But Deathstroke can't suspect I'm on your side." "Neither can La'gaan." "I need you to make this abduction good." "[grunts] [grunting]" "Well, you don't have to make it look that good." "[both grunting]" "Lagoon Boy to Team." "We're under attack at the Chicago Zeta tube." "Requesting backup." "Acknowledged." "We're 3 minutes from the nearest tube, but we're on our way." "[grunts]" "Uhh!" "See, calling for help like that just pushes up the timetable." " Now I can't savor the battle." " You want something to savor?" "!" "[growls] [both grunting]" "[growls] [both grunting] [beeping]" " Aah!" " La'gaan!" "Uhh!" "[groans] [both grunt]" "Now, that leg doesn't look good." "You know, I hate to see any poor animal suffer." "You aren't on the Light's hit list." "So how about a little anesthetic for the pain?" "Aah!" "[beeping]" "[groaning] [gasps] Aah!" "[groans]" "Recognized:" "Superboy, B-0-4." "Nightwing, B-0-1." "So, my cards on the table..." "Scarab's controllable now, more or less." "And it seems to have no interest in The Reach." "But what if that changes?" "You fear it will take full command, transforming you into a weapon for The Reach." "Got a prophecy hanging over my head saying just that, and worse." "I'd do anything, try anything, to make sure it doesn't come true." "I believe I may be of assistance." "Training and meditation can help you control the scarab within." "Is that how you did it?" " In part." " Well?" "I used my natural shape-shifting abilities to reach inside my scarab and ensure it could never take control." "Ah." "Too bad you can't reach inside my scarab..." "Wait a minute." "You can?" "You can reach inside my scarab?" "Then you've got to do it, ese." "Please." "I am sorry, but I must not." "I would not have the same control inside your bioform." "The procedure would put your life in grave danger." "What part of "try anything" did you not understand?" "[groaning]" "Welcome aboard, Martian." "Let me make your situation perfectly clear." "You are here to psychically repair the damage you have done to my son's mind." "This inhibitor collar negates all your Martian abilities." "In a moment, we will selectively reinstate your telepathic power only." "But before we do that, understand..." "Deathstroke is watching you at all times from beyond the range of your psychic power." "If he perceives even a hint of trouble, he will press a button, which will activate a substantial explosive charge in your collar." "So don't lose your head." "Uhh!" "Deathstroke, activate her telepathy." "[beeps]" "Now, save my son..." "Or die." "You heard the man." "Get to it!" "[thinking] Artemis, what... what should I do?" "[thinking] Fix Kaldur." "The three of us will figure out the rest later." "I'm not worried about "the rest"." "But honestly, I don't know if I can fix Kaldur." "Breaking a mind is easy." "Restoring one may not even be possible." "And what if I make things worse?" "My mere presence in his mind could be perceived as another attack." "Then take me with you." "He won't perceive me as a threat." "I can help." " Maybe." "Or maybe I lose you, too." " M'gann, we don't have any choice." "No, I suppose we don't." "[gasping]" "Artemis." "Artemis!" "You're not underwater." "This isn't real." "But if you allow the illusions to hurt you here, your mind could suffer real damage." "Permanent damage." "[coughs]" "Right." "Right." "It's all in my head." "Well, Kaldur's head." "Kaldur's very messed up head." "This is how he perceives his psyche..." "Atlantis in ruins." "I don't even know where to start." "[both grunt]" "Tula!" "[grunts] [grunting] Neptune's beard!" "Let go of me!" "[grunts] I've got to save M'gann!" "La'gaan, calm down." "There's nothing you can do for her in your condition." "Then what about him?" "Why isn't he rescuing her?" "I know you dumped her, but do you really hate her that much?" "You have no idea what I feel for her!" "You're right, because I would never abandon her to Kaldur and his flunkies, because that's who took her..." "Aqua-traitor's personal ninja pal, Tigress!" "Enough!" "I'm not supposed to tell you..." "To tell anyone..." "But Aqualad is not a traitor." "What are you talking about?" "He killed Artemis!" "No, he didn't." "Aqualad has been on a deep cover mission for months, infiltrating Black Manta's troops, the Light, and The Reach." "We faked Artemis' death." "She's alive." "In fact, Artemis is Tigress." "If she kidnapped Miss Martian, there has to be a good reason." "Why am I only hearing this now?" "I mourned Artemis." "Neptune's beard, I tried to tear Kaldur limb from limb." " You should have told me!" " No." "Nightwing's our leader." "We put our trust in him." "I'm sure he didn't keep this from us..." "From all of us..." "without having his reasons." "Look, we will figure this out." "Together." "In the meantime, get some rest." " Thanks for backing me up in there." " You don't leave a guy a lot of options." "You have no idea what your secrets have done to us." " What does that..." " M'gann believed Kaldur had killed Artemis." "So when she found him on the Reach ship, she fried his brain." "That's got to be why Artemis grabbed her..." "To try and save Kaldur's broken mind." "But M'gann doesn't know how to do that." "So Manta may just kill her and kill Tigress if she blows her cover trying to save her." "And we'll have lost all 3 of them because you thought it was a bad idea to share." "Not real." "Not real." "Not real." "[grunts] [grunting]" "Aah!" "[grunts]" "M'gann, snap out of it!" "You know none of this is real." "All my fault." "All my fault... [groans]" "Tula, stop!" "We're here, both of us, to help Kaldur." "[screams]" "Aah!" "[grunts]" "Ugh." "What am I doing?" "You're not real, either." "Kaldur!" "[gasps] [speaking in Atlantian]" "What is left of Kaldur'ahm?" "[speaking in Atlantian]" "I knew I should have paid more attention in my freshman Atlantian class." "Kaldur, listen." "It's Artemis." "M'gann and I are here to make you better." "[speaking in Atlantian] Artemis." "[speaking in Atlantian] I am alone." "There is no one here." "[cracking]" "Nothing..." "Ruins." "No!" "No." "You're not alone!" "We're here!" "We care about you and want to help!" "And we can do it!" "[grunts] What is the word?" ""Symbiosi"." "Together." "Help us save you." "Symbiosi!" "[screaming] [grunting]" "Do it." "Finish it." "That's what I deserve." "No!" "You want to blame yourself?" "Fine," "But only if you're willing to do something about it." "Kaldur, I am sorry." "Please, let me help you." "Help?" "No..." "Ruins..." "All ruins." "But it doesn't have to be ruins." "We can fix things." "Symbiosi." "Together." "[gasps]" " Tigress." "What's wrong?" " Nothing." "Nothing." "I was..." "Lost in thought." "It feels like I've been standing here for hours." "You... have." "Six hours." "I came to check on your progress." "We've only just begun." "This..." "Will take days." "Maybe weeks." "You better not be stalling, Martian." "Father." "Father..." " My son." "I'm here." "Kaldur'ahm." " He's not back yet, not really." "No, but I see you are making progress." "Keep it up, and you'll live." "Tigress, a word." "The witch is being more cooperative than I imagined." "Meaning you're having second thoughts about killing her?" "She's safe, until she finishes repairing my son." "Then, she dies." "Perfect." "[thinks] Perfect..." "Dude, I stopped by your house." "Your mom said you never went..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Greenie." "You're totally up in my buddy blue's grill." " Now, back off, or..." " Or nothing." " He did it!" "He fixed me!" " Great!" "Wh... what does that mean?" "The scarab, it's..." "Silent." "I'm in control now, 100%." "Don't you get it, ese?" "The Reach can't touch me." " I'm free!" "Permanently free!" " Crash."