Sorry for such a long break... Got a little busy. Here's your next chapter!
"Ugh, heroes take so long. I thought they'd be faster than this," Rose complained, playing with a plant in front of her. She moved her hand a little to let it grow longer, manipulating it into intricate shapes.
Emily stroked the side of her golden cane which wrapped around into a shape of a question mark. "I don't know why." She sighed, becoming impatient for their plan to fall into place. "I literally spelled it out for those imbeciles, the only way I could make it more known would to personally deliver an invitation..." She paused, thinking to herself before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, let's call that plan B." Her feet were kicked up on a nearby table, green laced boots on top of each other. Her eyes would glaze over to the door and back every couple seconds, waiting for their prey.
A deck of cards shuffled between Jack's hands, it seemed to keep him occupied from killing anyone. "Relax it, Riddles." He shook his head, before flipping the Jack of hearts over to her. "Not everything has to go preciously as planned, that's the fun in it."
She huffed before tossing the card off of her lap. Her mouth opened to give a snide remark but before she could the Cranes bursted in the room. Matt seemed a bit out of breath, "They're here." That was all the three teens needed to hear before taking action. Emily literally jumped out of her seat, swiping her green domino mask off the table.
Rose smiled, grabbing a gun from the table beside her. She had her mother's botanic abilities but found it more effective to use a combination of meta and non-meta fighting styles. Distract people with the plants then shoot them while they're down.
"Yay! Let's get this party started!" He jumped up from the couch, one of the cards sparking into flames as he tossed it up in the air. Jack laughed darkly, pulling out a silver blade. "Time to put smiles on their faces" He slashed the knife in mid-air as if carving up an imaginary person before licking his lips.
The three of villains followed Matt back outside. There they saw the team of heroes arriving and searching the area for any signs of trouble. Crates were scattered everywhere in and out of the warehouse. It provided a lot of cover, making it the perfect spot to take the superkids out.
"I see four, is that all they have? I thought there'd be more," Rose whispered to Enigma, sounding slightly disappointed. The villains were not fully aware of who the team of heroes consisted of. It wasn't their fault for the footage of the team was slightly skewed in the Light's files. Riddler himself listed the number of people on the team as undefined. Rose took another look, "Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Artemis are all present."
Enigma leaned back on her cane with a smug smile spread across her face. "Everyone understand the plan?" Her eyes seemed focus in on their targets. Waiting for them to draw close enough for the attack was so tedious, she purposed a riddle while they waited. "Riddle me this, What gets shorter, the longer it lasts, for what now is then and then is past?"
Annoyed looks turned in Enigma's direction. Anna rolled her eyes while her brother Matt groaned. The Cranes hated her stupid conundrums. They were impossible to solve. "Here goes the Riddles again." Jack chuckled, finding amusement in her consistent urge to question. Melissa grabbed Rose's arm, pulling her backwards. The two girls slipped away, planning on jumping Artemis. Anna, Matt and Jack scattered as the heroes approached their position.
The heroes closed in on the warehouse in a fast jog. Strangely, the only one left was Enigma when they got close enough to attack. She stood their with a smug smile on her face, not even attempting to run from the oncoming heroes. 'KF, M'Gann' Aqualad instructed over the mind link. 'Be ready to go for her when I give the word. Everyone else, be on guard.'
The Riddler's daughter taunted the heroes forward, giving a soft wave. Is this all you've got?" Enigma let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head as if all of them were beneath her. "Pathetic."
"Says the girl standing all alone," Kid Flash retaliated, forgetting the fact that he wasn't supposed to respond, completely ignoring Aqualad's reminders.
Enigma's face held a devious grin as he dared to speak up. Her emerald eyes narrowed back at Kid Flash, looking annoyed that the fool would test her patience. "Riddle me this, who is stupid enough to assume that everything is what it seems, Yet, won't figure it out until submerged into his screams. What can not harm the one superior but soon will find his blood all over this warehouse's interior?"
Rose chose that moment to lash out at the unsuspecting Artemis. A vine wrapped around her ankle, pulling the archer's foot from beneath her. The blonde was quickly dangling in mid-air, narrowly missing the ground as she swung up. Simultaneously, Anarchy tossed a flaming poker card at Aqualad, getting his attention. Aqualad spun around to see Matt Crane popped out from behind the Joker's son. Anarchy slashed his knife against Aqualad's skin making him stumble back.
Aqualad felt the blade rip the skin on his upper arm, he did not take time to wipe the blood away before kicking Anarchy at the knees. The green-haired jokester hit the ground, his face smashing to the concrete of the floor. He began to laugh insanely at the pain he felt which allowed time for Aqualad to wield his water sabers.
Matt eyes grew three sizes, seeing the water objects. He knew he had to be quick to react in order to help Anarchy. Matt panicked taking the first thing he could off the ground and throwing it Aqualad's head which just so happened to be the fear canister he was supposed to use later. The metal container knocked the hero over, leaving a throbbing gash on Aqualad's head.
Not being able to tolerate Enigma's annoyance or taunting any longer, Kid Flash charged at her. He was smart enough to know she was the ring leader in all this. He dove in attempts tackle her. Kid flash's eyes widened, seeing his arms passed right through Enigma. To his dismay, Enigma was only a projection. He couldn't stop running, there was no traction on the floor. Kid flash was headed straight for a concrete wall, if he were to hit it at this speed he could break a lot of bones. M'gann saw this and hurriedly flew in front of him. She was the blocking force needed to stop red head before hitting the wall.
The hologram of Enigma chuckled, twirling her cane around. "What's wrong speedio, brain working too slow to figure out my nerve wrecking riddle?"
M'gann's brow fraid ever so slightly, they had to figure out where this riddler girl was which meant telepathy. There are two presences on the top floor. I can feel it, Wally and I will go check them out.
Wally gave her a sly grin, hearing her comment. Is miss martian trying to get some one on one time with the wall man? You know you could have just asked babe.
M'gann rolled her eyes, ignoring one of his numerous attempts to flirt with her. She had her eyes on set on a different teammate. Wally was upstairs within a half of a second while Miss Martian phased through each floor. There they stood, Enigma Riddles and Anna Crane. Enigma seemed ready for a fight while Anna looked nervous. Something was off about the girl from the other villains but M'gann couldn't put her finger on it.
The daughter of fear had a purple hood pulled over her face, only small strands of black hair slipped out beneath her mask. M'gann noticed Enigma gave Anna a nod before gesturing to Kid Flash. "I'll take care of the speedster." The Riddler's daughter whispered as if M'gann couldn't hear her. Enigma flipped up in air, landing directly in front of Kid flash himself.
Anna however made no such gesture to M'gann which confused her. Anna's eyes were focus on Enigma, Kid Flashes and their fighting. Once she saw they were across the room Anna stepped backwards, "Stay away." She whispered in a hush voice.
Why is she trying to warn me? M'gann pondered, stepping closer. "What's wrong?" She actually sounded sincere, M'gann new this could be a trick but didn't want to risk hurting someone that wasn't the problem. She thought to highly of people. M'gann lend out a hand, but Anna freaked out, almost falling backwards.
"I said stay back!" Her eyes glimmered golden, her voice raised. Anna knew this was a bad idea, she couldn't lose her temper. No one understood why she hated it, the only ones who had come close to understanding were dead. Unlike her young brother she had been tested on as a child, her skin was practically infused with her dad's fear toxin. If someone were to touch her they'd be sent instantly into a world of their own fears, most broke because of it or even died. Anna would live through their fears with them when this would happen, she hated it. Worse of all Miss Martian didn't seem to be taking her warning.
Downstairs, Artemis pulled green knife out which gave her the ability to slice the vine off of her ankle. The archer somersaults onto the floor, taking a strong grip on her bow. She notched an arrow, aiming right for Rose. The redhead merely smirked, giving a taunting gesture. Out of no where Catgirl jumped out from the rafters above Artemis. The archer reacted quickly and spun around, letting the arrow fly towards Catgirl. The feline gracefully flipped out of the way, taking cover behind one of the shipping boxes. "Great, there's two of them" She grumbled, reloading another arrow. Artemis turned back to Rose, firing off a round of arrows. Rose dove behind a graffitied crate for shelter.
Superboy, I could use a hand here. Robin, go help Artemis with her two. Aqualad instructed in their telepathic connection. He had taken some harsh hits thanks to Matt and Anarchy's teamwork. Blood trickled down his forehead as Aqualad deflected Anarchy's knife into Matt's shoulder. A dark, blood thirsty laugh escaped Anarchy as he drew closer to Aqualad. He was about to take him down for good when Superboy came out of no where, throwing the clown into the floor.
Robin was quick to follow orders. He went to Artemis, landing silently behind her. She nodded subtly in appreciation of his back up. Her eyes quietly motioned to the places where the two girls had separately taken cover. One in front, the other behind. Robin understood, signaling her to go in one direction while he took the other.
Rose was oblivious to the fact Artemis had help. She saw the archer heading for Catgirl's hiding place and figured she could shoot the hero while her back was turned. Her finger clicked off the safety to the gun before stepping around the corner. The tip of her gun hit a red chest. Robin instinctively disarmed her and tossed the gun away before even checking to see who it was. He looked up, causing their eyes to met for the first time. Both widened in recognition of each other.
"Rachel?" Robin asked, taken back by seeing her. He couldn't fight her... Just a few days ago, they'd been hanging out at the manor and watching a movie. He'd thought she was done with this kind of thing.
Dick? Rose thought to herself. Her heart sped up. He wasn't supposed to be here. She didn't want him dead, but she didn't want him knowing she was involved in this either. The two just stared at each other for a minute, neither really trying to make a move.
Meanwhile, Anarchy and Superboy were fighting viciously nearby. Superboy's thick, Kryptonian skin was making it really hard for Jack to cut, it wasn't going well for the clown. Superboy punched Jack in the chest,sending him back into Rose.
"Jack," Rose grunted, shoving the clown off of her. She quickly came up with a way out of fighting Robin. "Want to trade? I'll be better at hitting the superbrat from a distance."
Anarchy looked up to see both Robin and Superboy running in their direction. "Birdie boy's here? I didn't know he left basty's side." A sly smirk came across his face as he had unfinished business with the bird. "Go ahead," Anarchy sprung up to his feet, knife ready as Robin approached. Rose paused for a moment, watching before signaling strong vines to grab Superboy around the arms, torso, and legs in attempts to slow him down.
Superboy broke through the vines and went for Rose, who swerved out of the way before he could get her. Keeping out of his reach, she continued grabbing him with plants, If anything, she could at least wear him down.
Anarchy licked his lips seeing his new target. He tilted his head back, chuckling darkly. "Long time no see bird brain." His grip tightened around the blade. Robin frowned and decided to let Rose go for now. Last time he fought Jack, it hadn't ended well and he was determined not to let it happen again.
"I'd say the same, clown. How've you been? Hopefully not asterous," Robin joked with a big grin on his face.
"Wonderful, Fabulous once I got out of the nutty house ya put me in." Anarchy glared, just thinking about being locked up in the dreadfully dull Arkham again. No color whatsoever and the guards were always so hypercritical. He was used to it by now but craved a fight. He charged forward at Robin whom quickly stepped out of the way.
"Missed me!" He teased, watching his opponent closely for any more moves. Robin rushed forward and landed a punch to the face. Jack smirked, taking the punch. In return he threw his knife at boy blunder. Dick hissed a little as it grazed his side, but instantly retaliated with a kick to the side.
Anarky fell backwards into one of the wooden crates, he just grinned with all the pain he felt. He had never felt more alive than he did when he was in a brawl. He brushed a strand of hair out of his face before peeking up out of the box. Robin ran after Anarchy but hadn't seen the exact box he'd fallen into. Anarchy jumped out from the box and grabbed him from behind, his knife to the boy wonder's throat.
Upstairs a stalemate broke out between Enigma and Kid Flash, he might have been fast but Enigma was tricky. She was the only one who was still sticking to their original plan. She had holograms spread across the place, being as tech savvy as she was they would appear behind crates then disappear while the real her ran about. Enigma blocked his attack with her cane before backflipping over him. "Come on speedio, I figured you could at least try to use your simple minded brain to put up a fight."
Her and her dreadful holographic projections were making it hard on Kid Flash. He groaned to himself as he missed her again. "Sorry, I'll stop playing it easy." He sped forward again and swung his fist out at her many projections as he ran about. Finally he managed to get a hit on the real one. The riddler's daughter fell backwards, wincing in pain. "I've got you know." He grinned pridefully.
Rose took another step back as Superboy fought against her vines. Conner grumbled, trying to use his strength to get out of these dreadful plants. His muscles tensed around the vines, trying to break free of them. His anger was boiling as his eyes narrowed back at the villainess. The edge of the vines started to come undone. Rose's eyes widened as he broke through them and pinned her down. He was landing punches to her face. Instinctively, she put her arms up to block his attack.
Several plants wrapped around Conner again but this time they were under no commands. The vines automatically protected the daughter of mother nature. Rose quickly used them to slam him into the farthest wall. After recovering, she used her powers to smash him into one crate after another. Finally, she built up enough momentum to throw the kryptonian into the wall. He actually went through the wood, landing somewhere outside. Rose kept an eye on where he'd gone for a moment before looking over at Matt and Kaldur.
Matt was totally getting his ass kicked. They were still fighting, but Aqualad was getting way more hits in. Matt Crane was out of breath, panting in the corner. Blood dripped off Aqualad's head, he only had minor injuries from before when Anarchy was apart of the fight. He had Matt defeated and both of them knew it. Should he risk taking him in conscious, or take him down? Who knows what this kid could pull.
Matt wasn't down for the count just yet, with the little strength he had he made a rush for Rose's dropped gun. He picked it up, aiming it at Aqualad. The leader had seen that coming a mile away and by the time Matt fired at Aqualad he had easily blocked it.A few swipes back with his water saver sent Matt back into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
Across the room the tables were turned, Anarchy was beating the Boy Wonder. "Looks like I've won again, Birdie Boy. Big shock there," Anarchy teased, his voice radiated with sarcasm. He placed the knife against the Robin's throat, trapping him against the wall. The pressure of the knife to his throat made Robin cease any struggling action. One false move and it could all be over. He knew better then to test Anarchy's insanity, his eyes looked around frantically for a way out. Jack laughed, gently moving the knife against Robin's throat. Yet, not enough force to scar it. Robin caught Jack's wrists to stop the knife from lodging into his throat. It took his full strength, creating a standoff between both boys. The equal pressure caused the knife to slip out and get stuck in the wall behind them. Jack moved it downwards, planning to impale the knife in the teen hero's chest. Robin's grip on Jack's wrists were the only thing stopping that from happening.
Rose caught sight of what was happening between Jack and Robin. A horrified expression came across her face. Her eyes glanced back to where Matt had gone. "Jack!" She called out,hoping to grab his attention and divert it away from Robin. "Matt's down! You need to go help him." Without letting up the pressure on the knife, Anarchy looked up at her then over to where Matt was lying on the ground. He scowled, not wanting to leave Boy blunder alive.
"Stay here, Bird boy." His voice scowled, mad he had to stop playing with his 'toy' just because Crane was in trouble. "I've gotta deal with le idiot but no worries, I'll be back ta play." His knife lifted slightly, only to hit Robin in the head with the handle of it. Afterwards, Jack lifted the knife sliced through the upper half of his cape, pinning Robin to the wall. He ran off to assist Matt.
Upstairs, Miss Martian and Anna Crane had yet to initiate a fight towards one another.M'gann reached out for Anna, genuinely concerned with how the girl was acting. Upon touching her arm she was taken back. Everything began to distort for M'gann. Her pulse picked up pace as her head throbbed in pain. Images scattered across M'gann's mind, ones she couldn't stop nor control. The images terrified her, making her shaky. Everywhere she looked was surrounded by wild flames. They were suffocating her. In the corner of her eye, she could still see the Anna girl with no expression on her face. The strange girl only watched, as if she could not help M'gann in the world around her. "Help!" M'gann's voice called out, sounding panicked. The martian could hear children screaming around her, desperate cries as the fire got higher. She could just faintly hear Superboy's voice. "Conner?!" M'gann tried to push through the flames in search of him. The floor gave out beneath her, dropping her into an endless pit. M'gann landed back at Mount Justice a bright light blinding her, blurring her vision. People with hoods stood around her before pushing a bloody and bruised Superboy at her. He looked so pale, on the verge of death it made miss martian's eyes water. "What have you done to him?" He glared at Megan, pushing her away. "Conner?" M'gann was completely confused as he backed away from her. What had she done wrong? Her eyes widen, seeing the team around her, slowly backing away as if she was the plague. M'gann did not understand what was happens. Why did they all hate her? What had she done? A mirror broke before her, and she saw the reflection of herself, white. Her face paled as she tried to run but no matter where she went her fears haunted her. On the outside of the fear trance, M'gann began to scream. The martian fell down, holding her head tightly. The telepathic connection between her and the team was broken, images from her fears trickling in and out as she lost a sense of reality.
Superboy had recovered from being thrown, and worked his way back to the warehouse. His eyes landed on Rose, veins flowing with anger. He leapt towards her, giving her a bare second to get out of the way before he smashing down on the pavement. Rose ducked under the strong punch of his. She wasn't the best fighter, but keep-away was a piece of cake.
Conner was about to charge at her again when M'Gann's screaming pierced his ears. Guys, something's happened to Megan. No response. The connection must be down, he thought to himself. His eyes widened, assuming the worse. Superboy dashed towards the sound. He found Anna standing over the green martian. She scattered on sight of the Kryptonian. Conner didn't care. He just knelt down next to Miss Martian to make sure she was alright.
"M'Gann?! Can you hear me?" He asked aloud, trying to get her to stop screaming.
"I-I warned her." Anna mumbled, not looking back at the two heroes as she ran. If she closed her eyes she could see what M'gann was seeing. For that fact alone, Anna focused on trying to keep her eyes. She had done the math. Effects for only a light touch would last maybe an hour, two tops but she had no clue how it would effect a Martian's brain.
Conner gently picked up the screaming Martian in his hands. He tapped the almost never used comm on. "M'gann's down" There was a sense of nervousness in his voice as he picked her up. He had never seen her like this before, tears streaming down her face, her mumbling words in Martian that he couldn't understand. Superboy raced back to the bioship, not even awaiting orders.
Artemis's voice came next over the com, the tone sounding stressed, for she had barely caught a break from Cat girl's attack. "She is?! This isn't going very well." She and Catgirl had been fighting viciously the entire time. The archer narrowly dodged her claws before tumbling over Catgirl. Artemis already had several cuts from the feline's cat claws across her arm, and her opponent had multiple wounds from her arrows.
"Pull back. Now," Aqualad commanded, seeing Jack and Rose moving in on his position. His eyes gazed to where Robin had been, finding him stuck to the wall and a bit dazed.
Enigma grumbled, seeing she had been cuffed. He had used his speed against her. One moment she was swinging her cane, the next her hands cuffed behind her back. Wally groaned, "Awe do we have to? I just got mine, and I haven't found a souvenir yet." He had turned away from Enigma for a second to speak." I guess I'll bring her-" He heard a noise behind him, turning around he saw Enigma and Anna sprinting for the door. "Shit." Enigma grinned at Kid flashes cursing. In response she pulled a detoner out of her belt, clicking it. The whole building began to flash with red lights as if it was about to explode. "On the other hand-" Wally spoke nervously, zooming downstairs. "leaving doesn't sound like a bad idea. Everyone RUN!" He sped up, swiping Artemis away from her fight, despite her cries of protest. She wasn't one to give up. Aqualad ran for Jack and Rose, then swerved around them at the last second. He reached Robin and pulled the knife out.
"Robin, we need smoke up the room so they can't follow us," He whispered. Despite a pounding headache, Robin pulled out a couple smoke bombs. Kaldur helped him throw them across the room. Aqualad then grabbed the younger boy's arm, pulling him out of the building. They had to get as far away from the beeping warehouse as possible.
Anna looked at Enigma nervously as the room's beeping got faster. "Are you insane? You're going to get us all killed!" She was being careful as she helped Enigma down the stairs, holding onto her by her shirt. She didn't want to harm a fellow teammate. Plus Emily knew better than to come in contact with Anna.
"Yes and no." Enigma grinned slyly, shaking her head. Of course she was technically insane. It was almost foolish for Anna to ask such a question. "Haven't you ever heard of bluffing?" E clicked on the button again, turning the sound off. "It's just the sound coming from my computer, using the speakers around the warehouse to amplify it. I have a plan for everything, remember?"
I really don't know what to say for an author's note... so... peace out!