(A/N) Thank you all for your supports and reviews! You guys make my ego grow everytime I find a new one! ^/^ Well, here's another chapter for Where there was Weakness. I hope you like it! I'm actually really happy with this one! Put my all into it! Well... a lot of my time... Working on the fifth chapter as we speak! Enjoy~
Turning around Bruce stared at us, urgency in his masked eyes. Alice and I tensed up. It had to be something bad. Confused, Robin and Kid Flash turned around and looked to the source of our reaction.
"You will be sent on your first mission after this short briefing. It seems that Arkham Asylum has been turned into a Hero facility. Villains and heroes are being kept there while their powers are stripped from their bodies. Since your other members are out on a mission, you four will go in and securely rescue the remaining members of the JLA. Robin, you will keep an eye out for any guardians while the rest carry out their jobs. A-Blue Jay you'll go straight to the security lab and post a fake video feed to cover up everything that's being done. Crimson, you will unlock the cage cells and doors leading to the holding area. That leaves Kid Flash with the task of getting everybody out of there. Do you think you can handle it?" Bruce asks as he fills us in. His slight stutter with Alice's name was brief, but I had caught it, and couldn't help but smile. The team, or remnants of a team, nodded, waiting for the rest.
"While in there, you will be saving Black Canary, Superman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow," his voice quivered, "these are the only heroes remaining. Robin, you will join Blue Jay in the security lab and read off the cell numbers to Crimson. Do you understand your jobs and the importance of this mission? After this briefing you will sneak in, using the cover of night. That's in two hours, so be prepared." With that Bruce stalked off, his black cape trailing behind him, his costume making his seem forever eternal. A dark mood settled on our group as we remained where we were. Bruce left the Mountain, and his ranking was called. Number two…
How many supers were left total? Knowing only three that had escaped the futility of the government, and five had been caught and thrown in prison… that left only eight members of the JLA alive that we knew of. Had anybody else escaped the treacherous grasps of the government? Or, was it only Barry, Bruce, and Red Tornado that had escaped? Did the rest put so much faith into us that they willingly surrendered not knowing their fate? My mood changed quickly to despair as I stared at the empty stop in which Bruce had previously been standing.
"So… we better start getting ready…" Kid Flash said in a forced, light hearted tone. He was trying to cheer everybody up. It was our first mission, we should have been stoked! But, the details were too depressing to let our spirits soar. Turning around I started walking down the hallway to our left, clutching my one and only box. It was light as a feather, and as empty as the human races hope. Alice remained where she was, trying to boost the mood to a happier one.
Walking down the great hallway I searched for the bedrooms, there were no maps directing people to certain places, and definitely no signs. Meandering through the endless labyrinth of the mountain I began to feel myself growing frantic. I hadn't known how long I had been searching, or where I was. I was lost. Irritated I threw down the box and leaned against a wall. Slowly sliding down towards the floor, I buried my face into my knees. Pulling my legs closer to me, I felt lonely.
Alice smiled as she began to joke around with Robin, her heart beating a little faster every time he spoke. With words were like velvet to her, smooth and addicting. She enjoyed talking to him, because she could see herself in who he was. They were similar, not only because they were trained by Batman, Bruce Wayne, but their personalities. They grew up alone, but that's where the similarities stopped. Robin had dwelled on his parents death, while Alice mourned, then got on with her life. She had been a happy child when she was younger, not caring about anything in the world. She had Bruce, and that's all she cared about. And now, she was beginning to make friends, Fallon, Robin, Wally, and the other members of the Young Justice, if she ever met them. Which, she was sure she would.
Now that she thought about it, somebody was missing from the small circle, a missing laugh. Looking around she noticed that, indeed, Fallon was gone. She must have gone in search of our rooms. Alice thought to herself as she continued on the light hearted conversation. Wally burst in with a few stories about his training with Barry, and how they'd go racing sometimes at night, always on high alert. They had to be secretive, and expect the worst. But, even like that, Wally was a cheery person, same as Robin. The entrance rang out Red Tornado's name and number, making the group tense up, and ready to attack.
"Well, hello Blue Jay. It is nice to finally meet you, I will place these boxes in your room. I am sure that Robin and Kid Flash would be delighted to show you to your quarters after you are done." His robotic tone rang. Turning around Alice observed the red machine. He merely looked to be a human in a manmade suit of machinery. But, Alice wasn't easily fooled, he was all machine, no human organs filled him. All mechanical, nothing living resided within his circuits. Smiling she nodded her head, noticing that he was carrying all the boxes with one hand. Balanced on top of one another, they never wavered as he made his way down the grand hallway.
Wally glanced down at his watch, an expression of concern replacing the one of laughter and joy.
"It's about time…" his voice trailed off and the mood grew heavy again.
"I guess we better get ready then!" Alice said in a light tone. A smile plastered across her face. She wasn't faking, not anymore. She was actually looking forward to the mission. Saving the rest of the JLA would be an important thing. Bruce wouldn't have sent them on this mission if it wasn't important. They probably had a specific time in which they had to go through with it, but, Alice wouldn't let that bother her. The rest of the JLA might be dead, but the remnants of the old team would bring hope back into people's eyes. It would burn away their fear, and they'd actually step up for themselves.
"Well, we should show you to your room!" Robin says, with a smirk. Alice's heart quickened at the expression and her face grew a bit warmer.
"Oh, yeah of course!" She stuttered looking down at her feet. Following the boys she took note of the cavernous mountain. It seemed to resemble the Bat Cave, but less gothic. There were many lights, and high tech appliances were located everywhere. It took less than five minutes to get from the main room to the bedroom hallway, two lefts, straight, and three rights. Her room was the third door on the left. The door was plain white, not standing out from the others. There were a total of twelve rooms in this hall, girls were located on the left, while boys on the right. Bruce had wanted to keep the members close in case of emergencies. Separate halls would have been too difficult and a hassle plan out and memorize.
"Your door, My Lady" Wally said with a slight bow as he motioned towards the door handle. Alice giggled and swung open the door, the room was plain, and two beds were placed next to each other. A single box already lay on the right one, along with a sleeping girl. A stack was placed next to the left bed, walking in Alice noticed that there was a bathroom built into the room, two walk-in closets, and a miniature kitchen. Well, a fridge/ freezer and a microwave. Not oven or dishwasher… but, Alice could live. Fallon on the other hand would love it, microwavable meals were what she lived off of. Swinging around with an extravagant expression of happiness she faced the two boys. Robin was staring at her, while Kid was looking off towards the right side of the room.
"Thank you very much for showing me to my room. I will definitely thank you more properly later. I'll make us all dinner after we're done with our mission. I will wake up Crimson and we'll meet you guys in the main area in ten minutes." Robin nodded and pulled Kid away forcefully. Laughing she shut the door and began to organize her side of the room, unpacking boxes and placing her stuffed animals in a certain patter across her bed. Finished she stacked the boxes by the door and glanced at the clock. She still had three minutes until she had to wake up Fallon and get going.
Not knowing what to do she stared at Fallon's single box, and debated on whether or not to unpack it for her. That would definitely fill up the time that Alice had left. Deciding to do so she scurried over towards it and picked it up, flinging it into the air she stumbled backwards and caught it. She had expected it to be heavy, but it was so light, as if nothing was in it. Now that Alice thought about it, Fallon never decorated her side of the room. Curiously she opened the cardboard flaps and gazed at its contents. A single photograph lay at the bottom of the box.
Picking it up Alice positioned it so the lights glare didn't reflect on the surface. In the picture stood a family, four people, a mom, dad, sister, and brother. The dad stood tall and in an old firefighters uniform, his left arm was wrapped around a blonde woman, she had brown eyes and rosy lips, she looked happy. Both of her arms were placed down on the shoulders of a young boy, he had brown hair and was wearing his father's firefighter helmet to his right was the sister, she resembled a younger Fallon.
"So this is her family…" Alice said sweetly. Replacing the photo she returned the box and hurried into the bathroom. Taking off her black mask she drew dark, black circles around her eyes. It was an old Wayne trick, the eyeliner would hide the basic formation of your eye and only show your actual eyeball. It made it harder for people to tell who you were. The minutes ticked on, and soon it was time to go.
Opening my eyes I stared up at a white ceiling. Frantically I jerked up and found myself in a white room, containing two beds. Confused I sat still trying to think back to what might have happened. I don't remember finding a room, I was lost in the hallway when I had… was exhausted and fallen asleep. Slightly a memory began to play, it was one of faded and fuzzy pictures, but it was about a man in red. He must have brought me here, shrugging I stood up and walked into the bathroom, a scream erupting from my lips as I looked at Alice. She looked at me questionably.
"Why do you have so much eyeliner? I hope you know that your mask covers up the sides of your face!" I say placing my right hand to my heart, trying to calm it down. Alice had a whole mask of eyeliner covering her eyes, not just enough to discourage your eyes, but enough to where she didn't even need to wear her mask.
"It's an old family secret!" she exclaims defending her pride.
"Don't you think you have enough?" I ask glancing at my reflection.
"No. I need much more!" she laughed as she continued to draw on her face.
"Yeahh… no… we're through with the eyeliner! Here put on your mask, what time do we have to go do the mission?" I ask shoving her mask on her face and snatching the eyeliner away from her. The thing had been brand new, and now half of it was gone. Alice looked at the clock and seemed to be alarmed.
"RIGHT NOW!" she screamed at me as she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. Flying behind her I mentally marked the way back towards the main room. No way was I going to get lost again, no way would I cry… I mean fall asleep in a corner.
"Sorry we're late! Crimson wouldn't wake up!" Alice apologized with a laugh. I stared at her in shock, my pride stabbed with a pen.
"No! It was so you and your makeup!" I argue back defensively. The boys smiled and rolled their eyes.
"Thought you were the fast one Crimson, why are you two so slow?" Kid Flash retorted. Protecting my pride I shot him a playful glare.
"Oh! And I am the fastest one here, don't forget it! I could beat you in a race anytime!" I threaten a smile on my face. Although a serious mission was on the way, I couldn't help but feel happy that I was surrounded by my friends.
"Alright enough with the chitter chatter. We have a mission to do, and I want to get back sooner rather than later if you don't mind! I've decided I would make them dinner!" Alice declared. We all straightened up and pushed aside our happy moods. Now was time for the serious stuff. The boys lead us into a separate room where two motorcycles sat.
"Since Crimson and Kid can run fast, they'll go on ahead and scout for guards along the perimeter of the fortress." Robin says as he boards a black and red one. Blue Jay jumps onto the one on the right, which was blue and black, with a bit white design on the sides. Kid and I nodded, but how were we going to get out of the mountain without being caught? I was stumped, obviously they couldn't catch Kid and I, well they probably couldn't see Kid and I, but Blue Jay and Robin they definitely could. And watching two kids riding motorcycles, underage, AND in superhero costumes had to be suspicious.
"Blue Jay and I will wait here while Red Tornado brings around the storage truck. Blue Jay, we need to hide underneath the boxes because the guardians check what's entering and leaving this mountain. The motorcycles they won't care about. Kid and Crimson, you two can scout on ahead, we'll meet you there in about ten minutes." Robin orders. We all nod, he was a leader, and we all accepted it. Hurrying over towards the entrance Kid and I exited the mountain, our names and numbers being called. It was a mystery to me how nobody could hear that robotic woman's voice.
Once outside I was cloaked in darkness. Standing still, I felt blind, unable to see anything but a dull grey cloud that covered the moon. My eyes tried to adjust, but they weren't doing so fast enough.
"Will you hurry?" Kid whispered. Obviously all ready to go.
"No, I can't even see what's in front of me!" I responded trying to make my eyes speed up. Kid groaned quietly and grabbed my hand with his.
"Fine I'll lead you until you can see again!" I rolled my eyes at his impatience, but I guess I could understand where he was coming from. We were out in the open now, in super hero costumes, and we could be caught any moment. He began to run in a slow pace, I followed close behind listening to his constant warnings of tree roots and holes. I was amazed at his extravagant vision at night, until I realized he was wearing night vision goggles. My amazement fell to disappointment, but still I took advantage of it.
Five minutes passed and we were finally on the main road, which I felt was a huge mistake. We should have been running alongside it. In the ditch to the left or at least twenty feet off to the right, but Kid argued that this way was fastest. I rolled my eyes, but listened, he was the one with the goggles, and I was the blind one. Picking up our speed, we ceased our discussion, afraid of somebody lurking in the shadows, ease dropping on whoever was to pass.
Now I understood why Bruce had made me practice so much endurance, for situations like these, I would be running forever, and my fifteen minute limit wouldn't have worked right now. It would have been in the way rather than a helpful power.
Whenever a car would come, we'd dive into the ditch, Kid would wrap his arm around me protectively as the car would zoom by, its headlights barely touching us. My heart would beat fast at our close encounters with the authorities. But, we'd pick ourselves up, and continue. I would take comfort in Kid's warm hand, it was the one constant thing I had at this moment, and it would get rid of the inconvenient fear of being found.
Eventually we had made it to the asylum, and we scouted around its perimeter, by I, I mean Kid. There were two main guards at the entrance, and two in the back at the exit. One was positioned on either side, pacing the length of the wall, while on top of the wall was another going to the opposite direction. That left an opening for somebody to get in, and to escape. Five minutes passed and the other two joined us. They seemed a bit awkward, Alice's face, although covered in black eyeliner, was a bit pink when she brushed up against Robin. Ignoring it I focused on our mission, our objective was to save the remnants of our dying race.
"Let's go." Robin says as he runs towards the gap in security.