The League's Hunt

Alexnandru Van Gordon

I am soooooooooooooooooo ticked off right now. I really worked hard on the next chapter to this and no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find it…. (Crying) and it took me so long to do it. This is…this is…injustice!

DISCLAIMER: Yeah, yeah, my lawyer signed all the papers. I know I don't own anything, not even my own life… (Sniff, sniff…)

CHAPTER FOUR: Teaming up

"What do we do now?" She asked, shivering from head to toe despite the heat of the steam.

Raven finished off drying her hair and sighed. "I can sense them around the tower…and it seems like Superman and Martian the Manhunter are on their way down the hall. I say we gather the others and tell them what we know."

"Which is what, friend Raven?"

She grinned—momentarily and quite slightly—but she grinned. "Use they're rules against them."

-Su-

"You're sure they're in there?"

Jo'nn nodded, levitating next to him in the hall. They stood outside the washroom door, listening to their muffled voices hot in conversation. "Yes."

"What the heck are they both doing in there? Aren't there…safer places in this tower of there's to hide?"

"Indeed. That is why their capture should be relatively easy if we keep ahead of the game…Break down the door."

Clark shrugged, pulling back his fist and straining the muscle for a semi-heavy punch. "Sure thing, boss—"

-St-

"EEP!" She screamed and hustled away from the door after the imprint of a fist dented the center. She had not expected them to be so violent in their attack and without any window in the washroom she had no idea where she could go without destroying their home further. Maybe if she bent a floorboard, Cyborg wouldn't be too upset…

Raven sighed, almost on the verge of rolling her eyes after a second punch followed the first. "Please. They must really think lowly of us to think even a single part of this tower is susceptible to easy damage. Come on, Star. The first person on our list is Robin."

"Robin…?" Yes—she had to agree the one person she wanted to stick with now was Robin. "But…"

She didn't have much time to ask how when a hole appeared in the door and Raven grabbed her wrist. Then, engulfed in a blanket of shadows, Raven took her into herself and they snuck intangibly through the floor at a rapid speed, stopping only when they reached the main floor beside the basement door.

Starfire barely had time to recover from the feeling of nothingness when she was suddenly dropped to the floor. She struggled to her feet and watched Raven curiously as she reached for the knob to the basement door.

"In here." Raven explained quickly, Starfire joining her by her side. "Robin's in here—"

And the moment she opened the door, Starfire soaring inside, Robin reached the top of the stairs and collided head-long with the alien girl.

That was one of the few times Star saw stars unnaturally made…

-R-

He felt as though he ran into a freight train traveling at full speed. Or…at least his head felt like that. Neck snapping back, he and Starfire came tumbling down the basement stairs and barely missed the Dark Knight when the man suddenly jumped over the railing. With the help of his grappling hook he made an easy landing, but both Robin and Starfire fell halfway to the basement, coming to a halt where the stairs turned sharply to the right.

"Friend Robin?"

He wasn't sure what was happening now but, as expected, Star had already recovered from the hit and was tending to him. He raised a shaky hand to his forehead and groaned quietly to himself. He could hear and feel—unfortunately—just fine, but he was as blind as a bat, bright dots dancing across a black background in his vision.

"Star…" He murmured, reaching out to take a hand. All he heard was her squeak in panic and grab him around the waist from behind, lifting them both high into the air.

Vision returning, he blinked a couple of times and shook his head before he could see clearly. He was nearly touching the ceiling and the metal pipes exposed running just below it when he noticed Bruce starting back up the stairs at a casual pace. Raven was leaning against the basement doorway, rubbing a throbbing forehead as well as she tried to gain balance on her own.

The Titans weren't exactly planning for this.

"Robin—you live!" Starfire exclaimed joyfully, arms wrapping tighter around his waist.

Ribs creaking under the pressure, he gulped down as much air as he most possibly could with a crushed chest and managed to gasp a, "can't…breath…" before Starfire got the message. She loosened her grip generously and the rest of the dots vanished.

"What do we do now?" Starfire asked, staring warily to Bruce, watching the grappling hook in his hand. "What is he doing now?"

"Starfire, fl—"

His warning came a little too late. Bruce had taken aim and fired long before Robin could give the order, the end of the grappling hook circling around his right ankle before catching and tightening when Batman pulled. They descend ten feet before Starfire caught on and started to pull back.

"He is…strong…" Starfire muttered through gritted teeth. She herself was strong in muscle, but flying was another power on its own. "…he is…winning."

"Hold on, Star!" He gasped, leg aching from being pulled in two different directions. He reached to his utility belt and took out his own grappling hooks, aiming for the pipes. Taking a shot, the end wrapped around one of the larger, sturdier pipers before he handed it to Starfire, one arm still around his waist. "Pull on this while I work to cut his line—and what is Raven doing."

Said girl was levitating, seeming to be fighting a battle of her own. She was chanting her usual mantra, eyes glowing white and hair flowing around her head like she was in water.

"Jo'nn…" Robin groaned before reaching for a birdarang. Holding the sharp side out, he bent forward as far as he could and managed to bend his knee somewhat as he sawed away at the rope.

-Ra-

She could see Jo'nn in her own mind, somewhere still on the upper floors, meditating himself. They were at a war, each trying to break into the other's mind as to take control. It would all be over for her if she allowed him to break into even something as simple as a memory. Although she was a demon with mind powers greater than many, his whole alien civilization lived off their powers. He was skilled beyond her days and far more experienced then she would ever be.

Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zinthos. Azara—

'Are these the words you use for concentration?'

She couldn't answer. She had to focus on the darkness of her mind.

Azarath metrion zinthos—

'I find pictures, scents and sounds allow for the mind to remain more focused. Words can easily be forgotten or mixed up, thus forcing you to pause and try to correct yourself.'

Azarath metrion zinthos—

'But I see…these words are really states of being and places from your home world. What does this place look like?'

Beautiful. Tall towers and blue skies. White birds and symbols of our—

Azarath metrion zinthos!—

'Why are you here then? Why leave such a beautiful place behind when it is the image of perfection, paradise?'

Azarath metrion zinthos…

'And what of your friends? While you escape to the back of your mind, your friends are in desperate need of your assistance. The human leader, Robin, is just about torn in two. His body strains at unbelievable levels while two beings, both stronger than himself, pull him in different directions.'

Robin…AZARATH metrion zinthos. Azarath metrion zin—

'Perhaps your team is not exactly a team…'

Azarath metrion zinthos…

-BB-

He didn't know what to say. Well, to say the least, he was scared out of his wits. There was the Flash, bursting in through his bedroom door like Cyborg said he would. Oh well…might as well go along with the tin man's plan.

Quiet casually, Beast Boy walked over to his desk, opened the top drawer, and took out a piece of gum. This he plopped into his mouth and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Hey."

Flash…confused…arched an eyebrow behind his mask. "Um…hey."

The Green Lantern, who was levitating outside the window, stepped inside and gazed around eth room just as confused as Flash. Neither BB nor Cyborg, now taking a seat on the edge of BB's bed, looked troubled in the least.

Flash straightened and began rubbing the back of his head. "Uh…you guys do know why we're here…don't you?"

"Yep." BB grinned, chewing his gum loudly as he jarred his thumb at his own chest, puffing it out to look braver. "And we're going to be the ones taking you down. Right, Cy?"

Cyborg crossed his arms and shrugged calmly. "Y'all hear that? The Teen Titans are taking down the Justice League. Just don't let the government or baddies here that otherwise y'all be outta business."

"Isn't that being a little arrogant?" The Green Lantern asked, still eyeing the two, and then shared a side-glance with Flash. "Where do you guys get off thinking you're the ones doing the capturing?"

"Easy." BB waved off the question and gave Flash a wise-act stare. "How much should I bet that you and me are a pair?"

Flash's eyes narrowed as he glared at the little green changeling. "Yeah, we are. And I might be annoying a lot of the time but even I don't act as arrogant as that. What's your game, kid?"

"Game?" BB straightened, still grinning. "Nah—more like art. You and I are going to paint the sky green."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I just heard that somewhere in a movie once."

"Oh…wait—"

Beast Boy jumped forward toward him. "Too late!" And vanished just as Flash opened his mouth to say something else.

Even the Green Lantern was amazed by this, turning to Cyborg in his confusion. "He can't do that…he's a transformer of animate beings. He just can't morph into thin air."

"Y'all need to use your imagination a little more. "Then he grinned like BB usually did. "He's an artist working on his canvas. He's not thin air, but he was in it a minute ago."

"Then where is he?"

Cyborg turned his gaze on Flash and shook his head sympathetically. "Dude…you should have never opened your mouth."

Flash's hand shot to his throat and his eyes widened in shock. "No…he didn't!"

"Sorry."

"…I think I'm going to be sick—" And he bolted from the room, leaving Green Lantern in all his confusion as to what he was going to do. In all honesty, he expected the two of them to head tails and run when they popped out of nowhere to grab him. This was…new.

Cyborg, still proud of the first half of his plan, returned his attention to the remaining League member. "If that gave you a surprise, just wait and see what I have planned for you…"

-SM-

He started his way down the levels the less destructive way and was startled when he heard Flash running past his at the speed of light, yelling frantically.

"I ate one! I accidentally ate one!"

"Ate what?" Clark called after his teammate. "A bug?"

"The green kid!"

Oh…WHAT!

-A-

Down in the basement the Titans are having a little trouble but up on the main floors it's the League members facing a few problems. Wondering who's closer to winning? Wanna know? Good. Tell me when you do because I have no idea. I'm just watching them beat each other up so I'll tell you what I see. Have fun until then.

Until Again,

Alexnandru Van Gordon