AN: Haha! I actually did update within three- er, four-ish days.
So this is the first chapter, meaning you can basically skip the prologue. it may or may not become important later on.
Characters may be OOC, because I'm still new at this.
...I don't know what else to say. I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to review! I love hearing readers' thoughts.
Also, to anyone who reads Never Let a Superhero in the Kitchen - I need ideas for the Batman and Robin chapter. The beginning and end are there, but there's no middle. Which doesn't make for a very good chapter. So, yeah.
Onwards!
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M'gann stood in a hall. It was very dark and very cold and she had no idea how on earth she had come to be there.
What an on turn of phrase. How on earth. On Mars they didn't say 'How on Mars did you eat so much?'
Mars! At least she knew who she was. But where was she now? She didn't recognize the place. It was deserted. Nothing like the Cave…
The Cave! Suddenly the floors were more recognizable and the doors familiar. But the hall was too long, it went on forever. To her left the passage turned a corner into what she knew to be the kitchen, while the other end continued farther, down into a brightly lit room.
Sticking with the familiar, M'gann walked down the side leading to the kitchen. Where were the others? Surely she wasn't here alone. 'Conner?' M'gann called through the telepathic link. 'Artemis? Robin? Is anyone here?' No response.
Ping! Around the corner, M'gann heard something fall. She froze. Either it was one of her teammates, or it was whoever or whatever that had messed with her mind. A breeze blew across her face. What? But there aren't any windows –
"Boo!"
"Ahh!" M'gann shouted.
"Ha! I so got you!" Someone was laughing behind her. Some one very… hairy?
M'gann spun around to meet bright green eyes. "Wally?"
Wally grinned. "Yep, it's me, babe. Didn't recognize me with my new look, did you?" The boy was covered in dark brown fur, except where his usual red grew, complete with a mane and beard. His casual clothes made him look like a woodsman who got lost in the forest for way too long with no access to hair products.
"What happened to you? Why do you look like that? Do you know what's going on? Where's everyone else?'
"Whoa, hold on. You're starting to sound like me. In answer to your first two questions…," Wally looked down at his hands, out of which grew sharp claws. "I don't really know. Sort of just woke up like this about what, ten minutes ago? Freaked me out."
"Freaked you out? You nearly screamed my ears off." Another figure appeared out of the darkness. She had green skin, darker than M'gann's usual color, and her nose – could a nose even grow that crooked? The warts did not help one bit.
"Yeah, well, I had your witchiness in my face," Wally retorted. "Artemis is here, too, which sort of answers that last question. Same thing happened to her, but the fortune was clearly in my favor."
"Says the boy who looks like a rabid animal," Artemis retorted, and she looked at M'gann. "It's so nice to know my boyfriend doesn't put any weight on physical appearance." She sent a quick glare over at Wally. "So, yeah, same story here, but I had Kid Idiot screaming in terror to deal with, so I haven't been able to investigate. Oh, and yes, the nose is real." Wally was reaching out to poke it but Artemis whacked his arm away.
"So, what, we're all supposed to be monsters or something? Somebody went way overboard on the pranks." Wally scratched at his arm.
Artemis' nose wrinkled. "Ergh, don't tell me you have fleas, too."
"Shut up."
"What were you saying about pranks?" M'gann asked.
"I just thought, you know, since I look like that werewolf guy from that movie, and Artemis is all witchy," Wally pointed out, "and you aren't normally so pale or… transparent. Unless you're in camouflage mode, I guess."
Pale? He didn't mean- they couldn't – Calm down, M'gann, she told herself. It's alright now, they know. Glancing down at herself, she saw it didn't matter. No, she was not her usual vibrant green, but nor was she chalk white. Her skin had morphed into something in between – a faded photograph version of herself. She was still in human form, except when she moved they could see right through her. And had it always been this difficult to touch the ground? Her toes were not supposed to go through the floor, were they? But she had felt Wally's hand, so she couldn't be completely incorporeal. The Martian attempted to shift back into her usual appearance, but nothing changed. "Ghost," said Artemis. "Werewolf, witch, and ghost. Somebody really loves Halloween."
It struck them, their eyes popping wide. Halloween. It was Halloween, and they had all become magical creatures.
"Not magical," denied Wally.
"Then explain this, Mr. Scientific. What happened to us?"
Wally the Werewolf did not answer, his mind buzzing at a hundred miles per second. M'gann's head hurt just being in the room with all that neuron activity. No, that wasn't it, her head hurt because of something else…
"Well, I must have been working on some sort of hair-growth formula, and there are a thousand possibilities for how M'gann got stuck in that form. You, Arti-missing-a-tooth-"
"Hey!"
"- got caught in the middle of one of Rob's and my prank wars. He must have found that green dye I had in my room. The wart's a genius addition – very realistic."
As plausible Wally's excuse might have been, it didn't feel right. "Do you remember any of that happening?"
"Er, no…"
"And why are we stuck in the Cave? Which is having some serious electrical issues, by the way. And why on earth do you have green dye?"
"You know, it comes in handy…"
"Maybe we were on a mission…" M'gann mused, trying to sort out the possibilities, but the irritating buzzing would not go away. She pressed he hands against her head.
"See!" Artemis exclaimed. "Magic. That's the only possible explanation."
"No, it isn't. Just because you –"
M'gann interrupted the couple before their argument got out of hand. "Knock-out gas. Villains have used it before, maybe some got into the ventilation system?"
Artemis crossed her arms. "You're suggesting the security of the mountain is compromised? Or that one of team or league has turned on us?"
"It does seem unlikely…"
"Or, although I hate to agree with KF, it could just be someone's crazy idea of an elaborate prank."
"Gee, thanks," muttered Wally, "Look, this is a lot of maybes. Why don't we stick with what we know? We are in the Cave. We look like classic Halloween costumes."
"There isn't anyone else here. At least that we know of," added Artemis.
A light flickered. "And the power's going out," M'gann finished. "Anything else?" They looked at each other. This was not enough information to bring any sort of conclusion.
"Well," said Wally, "I say we go search for the others. If the three of us are here, then someone else is bound to be. I hope."
The others did not speak, until, "M'gann?" Artemis looked concernedly at her friend.
The martian stared down the darkened hall to the glowing light at the end. "I agree with Wally. We need to get out of here."
"Great, but what are you…?"
M'gann pointed to the hulking inhuman figure standing in the opposite path. "What is that?"
The creature moved, the light flickering around its edges, morphing its shape with every step it took.
Wally gulped. "I don't know, but I say we run!"
Thanks for reading! I'll have chapter two up some time next week.
Review?