3: The Martian
Nico blinked once, twice, the words – including the last bit in Ancient Greek – sinking in after a moment of silence that he hoped wasn't as awkward as he felt at Cassie's reaction.
"Cassie Sandsmark…I think I've heard of you from Jason."
Cassie squealed, and Nico glared at Dick, who was trying to hold in his laughter.
"Oh my gods! I can't believe Nico di Angelo has heard of me before! Me! Cassie!"
At Nico's bewildered look, Cassie flushed.
"Sorry! I just get really excited, I mean, I've heard so much about you! And Percy Jackson and the seven of the prophecy! Oh, I've met Annabeth Chase once before, and man she is so cool! I still can't believe you guys held New York with just forty—"
"Whoa there, didn't Chiron tell you the rules about camp?"
"Don't worry, I've already told my boyfriend Tim, aka Robin," said Cassie with a grin, followed by a wince as Nightwing sighed while Blue Beetle grimaced.
"Oh crap, sorry! Pretend you didn't hear that."
At that, Nico had to smirk.
"Don't worry, I worked out who hewas within a month of knowing him," he said, gesturing to Nightwing.
"You super heroes aren't the most subtle people out there."
"So you're the guy who joined the Team for a day and left," exclaimed Static out of nowhere, and Nico raised a brow.
"Yeah, and it seems like I'm going to be here for less than that."
"Wait," said Nightwing.
"Nico, I told you five years ago and I'll tell you again. We'll always have a spot on the team for you."
Dick reached up and peeled off his domino mask, Tim was surprised at the action, but was even more astonished at the return of Dick's signature smirk after seeing his stepbrother grieve for the last three months.
"At least, if you're still up for it," he said, as if challenging him, noting that his earlier comment about Nico being unchanged was false.
Dick noticed that the son of Hades was no longer the weary boy who seemed to have the weight of the whole world on his shoulders – rather, he was now older, obviously, and seemed to have matured a great deal. Despite the darkness he saw within Nico's eyes (something Dick had learned to detect through years as a detective), the former Boy Wonder also saw signs of Nico's dry sense of humour beneath his semi-permanent brood – he felt that if Nico was met with the reaction from Cassie five years ago, the son of Hades would've either fled or drawn his sword with a growl, and the fact that Nico seemed to be slightly entertained, even amused made Dick think that Nico might've finally gotten over the peak of his emo phase.
Nico was about to decline, but then he remembered when he stood at the cave, five years ago with the Team, where they did not judge him…where he had actually felt like he truly belonged for the first time in his life. He had mentored the new campers just a few months after the end of the Giant war, but the job grew tedious and several other campers, including Jason and Piper had taken over the role.
Will was now off to college at Harvard studying medicine – not like he needed a degree, Nico had argued, but his cute yet exasperating boyfriend had insisted that most hospitals only hired people who had fancy and expensive pieces of paper to prove their abilities, despite Nico's point on how Will would always be a better doctor than any mortal. While he earned himself a kiss, Nico hadn't been able to sway the son of Apollo's decision.
Leo and Calypso – after their trip around the world following their crash-landing at Camp Half-Blood – had decided to open a machine shop in New Rome, and Frank and Reyna were both still busy as praetors, although the latter did call Nico on a regular basis to make sure the half-blood hadn't gotten himself killed; Hazel was now finishing her final year of high school. Annabeth and Percy were off going to college as well, and while they visited occasionally, they hadn't talked in nearly six months.
Despite finding friendship in the seven of the prophecy and a few other campers from both demigod camps, including his wonderful boyfriend of two years, he knew there were demigods that still viewed him as the outsider, and he wasn't ignorant of the disdain that was in the eyes of the Olympian gods and goddesses whenever he had the unfortunate chance of encountering them. His friends had all moved on with their lives after the war, relishing in their newfound peace while Nico was still cleaning up its aftermath.
It wasn't like he minded his contract with Thanatos, but collecting souls for the last three years had grown repetitive and boring, and while surviving not one but two wars was enough excitement to last a lifetime, some part of him deep down yearned to find a purpose in life other than surviving, as his friends all had.
Maybe this will be a nice change, he thought as a small, childish part of him that still loved all things fantasy and sci-fi grew warm at the thought of joining a team of superheroes.
Nico glanced at the other half-blood in front of him, who wore a pleading expression on her face, and made up his mind when he recalled Wonder Woman's words from five years ago.
"Okay, fine, I'll join your team, if only to make it less awkward the next time I sleep in a phone booth," he said dryly, and Dick grinned for the first time in three months,
"Good enough for me."
She was running, though she didn't know from what, just that she had to get away. Her legs were moving on its own accord, a blur of limbs along the forest ground. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction she was running, and every time it lashed at her skin, it stung so much she nearly collapsed. She was covered in cuts and bruises, and not just from running through the dense forest with branches and sticks out, ready to slice her skin to pieces.
Her vision was a blur, her mind fuzzy as she tried to recall how she had ended up in this situation – she had woken up in a clearing, a perfect crater around her. Her clothes were covered in mud; two huge metallic handcuffs that covered the entirety of her two hands were linked together by a heavy chain; her feet were similarly chained.
She had felt weak, the chains so heavy it was like they were anchors, and it was only when she tried to lift her head that she discovered a thick collar around her neck, so heavy it made sitting up impossible. That was when she heard the excited shouts of men, yelling in a language she didn't understand. They had burst into the clearing with devices that emitted so much light, her dizziness returned a hundred-forth, and with a strength she didn't know she still possessed, she picked up a nearby fallen tree trunk and threw it at them. They screamed, ducking for cover. That was when she stumbled up and ran.
The men were long gone now, their bright devices and their shouts hundreds of metres behind her. She didn't know how long she had run, but came to a slow and an eventual stop as she caught her breath. Sweat beaded her forehead and neck as she bent over, the chains slowly becoming heavy once more as her adrenaline faded. The girl contemplated smashing her cuffs together in an effort to break them, when suddenly, a loud bang rang out from the bush to her left, and a shocking pain erupted from her shoulder, followed by a stinging sensation.
She cried out, lifting her cuffed and chained hands with difficulty in a poor attempt to protect herself from any more projectiles, but her strength began to seep out of her as the effects of the dart embedded in her shoulder began to take affect. Her vision blurred, and her eyelids began to droop as she fell to her knees, and just as darkness took her, words in her native language instinctively fell from her lips: "Galfore…K'norfka…please help me…"
"Huh, and I thought Mars was always just a desert planet with nothing but cacti and sand," exclaimed Superboy as he made his first step onto the red planet and took in the sight of the small village spread out before him.
M'gann was the one to describe this village to be small, but Conner figured she must've meant in population, as the mud huts and buildings spread to the edges of the large crater where they had landed. The sight before him reminded him of the poor farming villages from the middle ages from his history lessons with the Genomorphs at Cadmus, except strange-looking plants were in place of corn and potato plants, and advanced-looking alien tech was used to farm the Martian plants rather than rusty ploughshares.
"You're half right," Miss Martian said with a small smile at Superboy's cluelessness as she and the rest of Alpha team headed towards a Martian village on the edge of the sand dunes on Mars.
"You sure that's a good place to park the ship, sis?" asked Beast Boy as he glanced back at the Bio-ship that had shrunken back into its pod.
"We shouldn't be that long, I mean, Green Beetle sent out that distress call months ago, but nothing's happened since. The village looks harmless enough. Besides, the ship will tell me if anything attacks,"
"Looks can be deceiving," said Superboy distractedly, but he quickly turned to Miss Martian in a panic when he realised what his statement implied.
"I-I didn't mean it like that! I wasn't thinking—"
"It's all right, Conner," said M'gann, but her smile had disappeared from her face and she wouldn't meet his eyes, and Conner mentally slapped himself for his big mouth.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
They walked in awkward silence after that, and even Garfield wasn't ignorant to the sudden tension in the air as they approached the gates of the village.
"Halt! Who goes there?" a harsh voice suddenly invaded the three heroes' mind, not unlike how Miss Martian telepathically communicates.
"We are here to see B'arzz O'oomm, known to us as Green Beetle. We were sent by the Justice League of Earth."
Two guards suddenly appeared just in front of the gates, in their true green Martian form and wielding a spear in hand. They were eight feet tall, with slashes as clothing. They stared at the trio with beady blue eyes, expressions blank yet cold.
"You may enter," they said, after a moment.
Superboy could not tell which had spoken, as they looked exactly the same, and the sight of them staring at the crest on his shirt, followed by cold looks of clear distain on their faces, as if they were bemused that he was clearly not the Man of Steel only made his mood plummet more.
It was mid-day, and most of the inhabitants of the village had stayed indoors as this was the hottest time of the day, with all the heat of the sun pressing down onto the surface of Mars. The stray Martians who were outside were milling about, and most didn't even give the heroes a second glance.
"Here, his house is just through this alley to the right."
"You sure this is the place?" asked Garfield as they stopped in front of the hut. It was medium-sized compared the rest, but unlike the other primitive Martian huts, B'arzz's hut had glass panes in his window frames rather than a simple curtain like his neighbours. From the rumbling sounds coming from behind the hut, Superboy figured that must've been a generator hidden there. The walls were dark orange however, just the simple colour of hardened clay and mud and worn bricks.
"Hello?" said Miss Martian tentatively as she knocked on the large wooden door.
"Come in!" called a voice from inside the hut.
B'arzz O'oomm, otherwise known as Green Beetle greeted the heroes with an easy smile as he stood when they entered.
"M'gann, Conner, Garfield! It is good to see you."
"Just Gar, please," said Beast Boy with a wince as he turned to shut the door, and cool air blew from an air conditioner on the wall, its modern design clashing with the simple stone table and chairs.
B'arzz was currently in his human form, in a suit and tie and looking like your average middle-aged businessman, only his skin was green.
"How are you doing?" asked M'gann as B'arzz gestured for them to sit.
"I am doing well, thanks to your Justice League's generosity and the rehabilitation they were able to provide me."
"That's good to hear, but…didn't you sent a distress call three months ago?"
B'arzz's smile dropped, and he frowned.
"Distress call? I do not understand."
The three heroes glanced at each other.
"You sent a distress call out just a few months back, but we were caught up. We came as soon as we could," said Beast Boy.
B'arzz's frown deepened as he sank back down onto his chair.
"I do not recall sending out a distress call to the Justice League, or to your team for that matter."
B'arzz stood and pulled a walkie-talkie like device from his pocket, and as he turned to quickly change the temperature of the air conditioner, M'gann noticed four glowing red dots on his lower back, almost as if B'arzz's beetle's eyes had duplicated themselves and was glowing bright red.
"See? I have not touched my communicator," said the green Martian as he turned back to face the heroes.
"Excuse me for asking, B'arzz, but your beetle's eyes seems to be glowing, and Blue's beetle hardly ever does," said M'gann, and something inside her prevented her from mentioning the extra set of eyes the beetle had obtained.
"Glowing?" exclaimed Green beetle in confusion as he turned to look at his back, when suddenly, he let out a pained groan and the communicator that was previously in his hand dropped to the ground with a clank.
"Green Beetle?"
"B'arzz?"
M'gann rushed forth to the superhero, who had suddenly broken out in cold sweat; his hands had begun to shake, and his human form seemed to be melting. M'gann placed her hands onto his shoulder to steady him, but she yelped and leapt backward when her hands made contact with his skin. She lifted her hand, and smoke drifted from it, the surface of her palm was still red-hot from the burn.
"His skin is burning hot, like lava!"
Smoke began to rise from B'arzz's heated skin, and he reverted back into his green Martian form.
"B'arzz, are you okay? What's wrong?" asked Superboy.
Suddenly, the Green Beetle let out a pained roar, and his beetle armour sprouted from his arm to form a sharp blade. With a swipe, his blade connected with the table, slicing through the stone like warm butter and splitting the furniture in two. Superboy balled his fists as he got into fighting stance, while Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla, ready to strike.
"Wait!" cried M'gann.
The two heroes turned to look at her, to see her burnt hand stretched out before her.
"His mind is in…pain. There's someone else…someone else is in there! He's fighting them now!"
"Someone else?" exclaimed Superboy in alarm.
As if in answer, B'arzz's hands (including the one with the blade, though it had shrunken abruptly) flew to his head, and the heels of his palms dug into his temples. His shaking grew worse, just as a hoarse whisper suddenly drifted into the three's mind.
"He…he's here…"
"Who? Who's he?"
"I…he's…he's coming for all of us…he's on his way…please, no!"
"B'arzz—"
The Martian began to flicker in and out of invisibility, and he suddenly appeared right in front of Superboy. His burning hands flew to Conner's shoulders and gripped them tight, and the boy of steel was lucky that his was invulnerable to heat.
"He is coming!"shrieked B'arzz in his mind suddenly, startling Conner, but before he could react, B'arzz disappeared and reappeared in front of Beast Boy.
As soon as his burning hands made contact with Beast Boy's gorilla form, the boy morphed back into his human form and cried out in pain as the searing heat of the Martian's hands burned his shoulders. Despite Superboy's efforts, B'arzz's grip was like iron.
"You must warn them!"another shriek, before he appeared in front of M'gann, his glowing beady eyes shining with fear and desperation, not registering Miss Martian's exclamation of pain that seemed to punch Conner right in the stomach as B'arzz's burning palms gripped her shoulders.
"PROMISE ME!"
"Let go of her!" yelled Superboy, desperately pulling at B'arzz's arms that were also beginning to become intangible.
Suddenly, two guards burst into the hut, and they didn't even hesitate as they sprang forth and seized B'arzz with gloved hands in practiced strides. One of the two guards then reached out with a hand gloved in metal, and pressed his fore finger into B'arzz's forehead.
"Be still."
The flat command echoed within Superboy, Beast Boy and Miss Martian's mind, and Green Beetle stilled for a moment, giving the other guard the chance to lift his spear and slam the butt of the weapon into the back of his head, promptly knocking him out. With a shudder, the two guards lowered the unconscious Martian onto the ground.
"M'gann, are you alright?" exclaimed Superboy in concern, and his heart lurched at the sight of the burns on her shoulders.
"I'm fine," said Miss Martian flatly, clearly still unhappy with his earlier comment as she straightened to face the guards, and Conner scolded himself mentally once more for being so careless with his words.
"Has this happened before?"
The guards did not look cold and expressionless this time, rather, a look of unease was on their faces.
"Two months ago, just a few weeks after he came back. We used his communicator to try and get help from the mighty Justice League, but all they sent were you three, two months after the incident."
"Hey! We were just—"
"Superboy, calm down. It's fine. We're deeply sorry for not getting here earlier as planned, but you must tell us. What was it like the first time?"
The guards glanced at each other, and M'gann could sense their hidden fear.
"It started at the marketplace, when he suddenly started screaming in a language no Martian has ever heard before. It was an ancient tongue, and he spoke it loud and fast. His eyes were glowing dark red, his movements were forced and stuttered."
"I sensed another within his mind."
"Correct. The day at the marketplace, he was possessed by another."
There was a gasp, which was from Beast Boy, his burns forgotten for the moment at the guard's words.
"Possessed? Like a demon?"
"We do not know whom or what it was, but we could all sense one thing that radiated off his possessed form like a…like a flame. Evil. Pure evil came off him, as if all the light in his soul had been consumed by an evil so pure and dark that not even the brightest light could cleanse it."
"Was that all he did? Scream like a madman?" asked Superboy.
The guards regarded the young hero with narrowed eyes.
"His arm turned into a knife, and he carved something into the side of the fountain in the middle of the village square just before we knocked him out."
"Where is it?"
"Follow me."
The guard led the heroes out of the hut and down the street before arriving at the village square where the markets usually took place.
"He rushed over here and carved something just here, but we do not understand the symbol."
"May we have a look?"
The guard nodded, and the trio approached the fountain warily.
"It's like the letter S, only jagged, with lines through it."
"Could it be something against Superman?"
"It's highly possible, though why? Who would possess Green Beetle just to carve in a poor graffiti of Superman on the side of a fountain?"
"Would you mind if we carve out this section of the fountain so we can investigate further?"
"You may."
"And we'll take him with us, so the Justice League can keep him under supervision."
The guards nodded and turned back to the direction of the hut.
"Do you think it could be Vandal Savage?" wondered M'gann once they were gone.
Superboy and Beast Boy were quiet for a moment before the former spoke in a tone laced with steel, "He better not, or else I'm going to kick his ass so hard, he'll feel it for the rest of his immoral life."
On the sand dunes of Mars, two lone holographic figures stood and watched as a red bio-ship took off into orbit.
"They are taking him out of his reach, my lord," said one; his raspy voice could barely be heard over the growing sand storm.
"It matters not. The message will be sent," said the other, who was twice the size of the first speaker. He rubbed his ashen hands together in anticipation,
"All is going according to the plan."