Alternative Rewritten

Chapter One: Escape From Cadmus

"Look out!"

Thinking fast, Wally dragged Aqualad out of the way just as one of the giant creatures they discovered nearly crushed him under its feet. The two young heroes skidded to a halt a few feet away, staring at the monster-like animals with wide eyes. This was probably something Batman was hoping to find.

The two of them had snuck into Cadmus after Wally did some convincing. They barely entered the building before things started being strange already, like Aqualad seeing an alien-like creature disappear past the elevator doors. It seemed really suspicious, so the two of them agreed to investigate further. And what they discovered what a huge puzzlement to them both.

"What are they?" Aqualad whispered as they watched the creatures stomp away from them. Wally was concerned that they might turn and attack them at any second, but they didn't seem to notice their presence at all. It was bizarre. They didn't behave like normal animals, or any living creature that Wally has seen before.

"I have no idea." Worry nawed at his insides. Something wasn't right about all of this. Those creatures were ringing all sorts of warning bells. "I guess this is what Cadmus was hiding."

"That seems to be the case." As the creatures disappeared from their line of sight, Kaldur turned to face him, face lined with concern. "Maybe we should contact the League."

Kid Flash elbowed him at the suggestion. "No way!" He argued, but part of him wanted to turn tail and let the adults handle this. Because this already looked like it was way out of his depth, Aqualad's too. But he really wanted to show the League that they were willing to take the next step forward to becoming real heroes, and that they weren't just some kids who tagged along every once in a while. Spite was the biggest motivator for him right now, and he wasn't willing to give it up just yet. "Let's go a little further and see what else they have down here. If we call the League now, they'll get all the credit! And they'll never recognize what we can do. We'll never have their respect."

The older hero groaned and ran a hand over his face, looking conflicted. But eventually, he seemed to reach a decision, and nodded. "Fine. But we're only staying here a little longer. And if it comes to it, I will call the League."

"Whatever you say," Wally agreed, relieved that he was able to change his mind. The last thing he wanted was for all of this progress to be for nothing.

The two teenage heroes continued searching the vast hideout, avoiding the strange monsters as they went, to try to stay below radar. But eventually, they ran into another group of monsters. But these ones weren't idly roaming the halls, they were standing there as if waiting for the heroes' arrival. And they weren't alone- a man with a yellow helmet seemed to be leading them. Wally squinted at the man, recognising the outfit after a moment of scrutiny. "Wait...Guardian?"

Aqualad seemed to also recognize the uniform. "I know you. You're a hero," he said, giving Wally a confused glance, which was given right back at him. What was a decently known hero like Guardian doing in a sketchy place like this?

"I do my best," Guardian said flatly, crossing his arms. "Now, let's call the Justice League. I don't know why you chose to break into a privately owned company, but I'm sure we can work something out with your mentors to ensure your behavior doesn't continue."

Wally bristled at that; oh, so he was going to tell on them? Screw him. "Go ahead, call the League! They won't approve of you breeding weapons anyways!"

"Weapons? What are you..." A strange look passed over Guardian's face. "What have I...?" As soon as the invisible fog in his mind started to fade, the horns of the small creature on his shoulder glowed. The puzzled look soon morphed into one of fury. "Take them down!"