Hey everyone, thanks for taking a look at this! This fic is a sequel to a previous fic I wrote, called Getting Home. If you want to read this, I strongly suggest taking a look at the latter, or alot of this won't make sense.
I sort of left you all hanging after Getting Home, so I attempted to make a sequel to finish things off.
This starts about a week or so after we left off. This is just an intro chapter of sorts. The next one will have alot more plot development and action. So, bear with me! Read and review please!
Do you want to find her?
"Yes. Yes, I do." A trembling voice replied, barely audible over shaking breath.
Do you care about her?
Sobbing, she nodded. Tears ran down her red face as she hugged herself and rocked back and forth.
She's depending on you. And you're letting her down.
"Stop this...please stop..." she muttered.
But you're not there to help her, are you? Do I have to remind you that the time she has left to live is ticking by while you do nothing?
"Shut up!" she screamed suddenly, grabbing her head between her hands.
Her life is in your hands.
"Tell me where she is! Now!"
Too late.
"No, no it's not!"
Wake up Shane. It's a brand new day.
"No!"
Shane bolted upright, clutching her heaving chest and resisting the urge to scream. A feeling of claustrophobia choked her. She gathered what lucidity she had and tried to calm herself. It was only a dream. It was only a dream...
Even so, she could still hear the cruel laugh of the voice echoing inside her head. She shivered. It's only a dream... a nightmare...Shane threw back the covers and laid in her bed, staring at the shimmering patterns of orange light the barely risen sun made on her ceiling as it shone through her blinds.
This had to stop. It was the seventh night in a row that she had been plagued with these nightmares. She was close to the edge. She barely got enough sleep as it was, but with the dreams on top of it- her performance on the team was beginning to fail. Noticeably. She feared that by the time came that they found her sister, she would be too weak to get her back. Her hands balled up into tight fists. No. She could not let that happen. She would not let that happen. Slade would not win.
With another furious yell, she slashed her blade to the right and down, tearing a zigzag into another hapless holographic thug. Blood burst forth from his chest and mouth as he stood rigidly, wide eyes staring at her. Se drew her leg back and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him toppling to the ground, where he fizzled out into static. Panting, she called,
"More!" Another criminal materialized before her. She promptly began her attack, not giving the AI a chance to fight back. Artificial blood coated the ground, contrasting greatly with the black of the holographic street that served as her battlefield. Mock buildings from the inner city of Jump towered around them. There were no people onlooking through the windows or from street corners- simply Shane and the victims of her determined rage.
With one last swipe, her opponent fell.
"Tally of defeated opponents." Shane demanded.
"Fifteen." a computerized voice responded.
"New opponent."
"Name and classification?" She swallowed.
"S-Slade. Class A."
At her word, a replica of the psychotic man began to appear. At first it was a mere shadow of a man, walking across the road towards her at a leisurely pace. Casual, almost. So sure of victory. Then, the image filled out and became solid, taking on a shape and a form Muscles filled out underneath the black Kevlar bodysuit. Metal pads squared off his shoulders and protected his knees. A belt strapped around his waist, holding every weapon he might need. A black and orange mask with one slit for an eye and a grate for his mouth covered his entire head.
It was Slade.
She watched as he came to a halt in front of her, her hands trembling as she drew a second blade. He towered over her, his presence emanating cold, calculated surety. With a deep, shaky breath, she dropped back into a defensive stance, her eyes ever leaving the nightmare of a man. A single breathy word slipped past her lips.
"Begin."
At once, Slade sprang to life, swinging the first punch at her ribs. She spun the opposite way, avoiding the blow, and struck out with her own punch. He caught her fist and twisted it painfully, forcing her knees to buckle out from underneath her. From there, he kneed her in the side and threw her down. She fell, stars exploding in her vision. In between shallow, painful breaths, she managed to dissipate and reappear above Slade, just close enough to land a kick on the back of his skull.
A crack ran down the face of his mask, exposing a small sliver of flesh. His one visible eye narrowed, becoming soulless and menacing. He spun around and grabbed her leg in mid air, then swung her to the side harshly. She collided with a telephone pole and hit the ground, letting out a cry of pain that echoed throughout the city. He stalked towards her, hands clenched. Everything in her resisted, screaming 'Don't move! Don't get up!', but Shane pushed herself into a crouching position anyway. Her old wound twinged, and several ribs already felt bettered and bruised.
"Fighting back, are we?" Slade asked, a condescending edge to his voice. A chill ran up Shane's spine. He sounded just as cruel now as he did all those days before. "Impress me." With a shout, she leapt forward and lashed out with both blades. He blocked them with metal arms guards and countered with a kick aimed at her jaw. She flipped backward, disappearing mid-arc.
Breathless, she manifested on top of one of the many surrounding buildings. She crawled across the gravel surface and looked over the edge, careful not to expose herself. Slade was down on the street below, searching wildly for her. He didn't seem to have a clue where she was. Thank god. Shane sighed inaudibly, backpedaling away from the roofs edge and laying flat. Her heart pounded and her entire torso ached. The few minutes she had spent fighting Slade had certainly taken their toll. Staring up at the manufactured sky, she allowed her body to rest while her mind racked itself for strategies. How am I going to get out of this...?
"You can't." Shane gasped, eyes shooting open. Who...? The silhouette of Slade was perched on a metal vent above her, his head tilted to the side as he observed her. She sat up, jaw clenching.
"Who the hell says?"
"You do." Slade jumped down from the vent, not making a single sound as he landed. "Inside, you're terrified." Her eyes narrowed in anger.
"Shut up!" A blade sliced through the air, set on plunging deep into Slade's stomach. But in the last possible moment, he disappeared. The blade pierced the metal side of the vent, just behind where he had been standing. Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?!"
"Workout complete." the computer said. "Time elapsed: one hour." Slowly, the street below faded out. Like poison, it spread, taking all the buildings and roads and alleys until she was left sitting in the middle of a large, white room. Her blade clattered to the floor beside her. Cursing, she punched the floor.
"Glorious greetings to the world! A new day has arrived!" Starfire cried, throwing her arms in jubilation above her head as she entered the main room. Her celebration, however, was put on hold as she noticed another member of the team hunched over a collection of files spread across the table.
Now, in normal circumstances, Starfire would assume that person was Robin obsessing over his newest lead, but the recent disaster lead her to think otherwise. She floated cautiously closer, peering at them. It was Shane. She had her head resting in one hand, and was munching on a bagel held in the other. Her face was somber and darkly contemplative as she combed over a document she had pulled out from a file labeled 'Class A Fugitives'.
"Pleasant greetings to you Shane." Starfire said, putting on a bright smile. Shane started and looked over.
"Oh, morning Star." Shane said, her mood changing suddenly from somber to happy at the sight of her fellow teammate.
"You are up early, despite your usual sleeping habits, are you not?" Shane blinked, then replied,
"Just a bad dream is all Star." She looked back down at her document.
"Oh... I am sorry to hear it."
"It's nothing. I'm fine." Shane offered her a reassuring smile before shutting the files and gathering them together in a neat stack at the end of the table. Just then, the others came in, all in various stages of consciousness.
Beastboy barely made it to the sofa before collapsing. His greeting was something halfway between a grunt and a snore. Robin went straight for the coffee pot and newspaper, offering a short, "Good morning." Raven simply remained quiet as she poured herself some tea and moved to the window to observe the city and its bay.
Cyborg, possibly the most cheerful person in the morning next to Starfire, wrapped his arms around Shane from behind and said,
"Morning!" Shane automatically melted in his arms and smiled serenely.
"Morning Cy." she replied. Beastboy was conveniently awake enough to make retching sounds from the sofa. Fortunately for them, Raven was also awake enough to levitate one of her books over and bitch slap him with it. Cyborg laughed as he broke the embrace to stand beside Shane.
"Hey, what are those?" He gestured to her stack of files. She hesitated. Although it was obvious her sisters kidnapping caused her alot of pain, she still hadn't told them about the nightmares or her increasing desperation to find Slade. If they knew, they might put her out of commission for a while for fear of her safety and sanity.
You're going to lie again, aren't you?
Shut up. I won't lie. I just won't tell them everything.
"Just some paperwork I'm wrapping up." He gave her a sidelong glance.
"Paperwork?" She nodded weakly. "I didn't know-"
Suddenly, as if by some incredibly convenient miracle, the red lights and klaxon began to wail, interrupting Cyborg mind-question. Shane nearly sighed in relief. Cyborg threw another glance at her before moving to the towers mainframe computer. Robin was already seated and rapidly typing, pulling up GPS maps to the crime in progress and police reports on who was committing the crime. With one last stroke of the key he sat back, brow furrowed in anger, jaw working side to side.
"Well?" Raven said. "What's the case?"
Robin sighed, hand rubbing his forehead. He turned, looking up at Shane apologetically.
"Slade has decided to make a show at the National Jump City Bank. He says he's willing to give up the location of your sister, but the information has a time limit. To apprehend him, we have to move- now." Shane's eyes darkened, her voice dangerously low as she said,
"The coward wants me there? Well, I'm not one to disappoint." She gripped the hilt of the longest dagger in her belt and slid it out of its sheath, her knuckles white.
"Shane, no- wait-!" Robin stood from the chair, reaching out to grab her.
"I'll meet you there."
All his glove closed around was thin air. He was too late. Shane had already disappeared.
So, what did you think? Though it wasn't entirely bad to me, I still think it's lacking something... but I hope it will get better as it progresses!
Your opinions and comments mean alot to me, so please just drop me a review and tell me what you thought!