In the Place of Mortals
Chapter 4
Chinese Fairy: Another chapter, another adventure and maybe I'll finally get off my bum to update my stories.
Disclaimer: As I said in the last chapter, I did not magically inherit the rights to "Young Justice". Everything belongs to the rightful owners: D.C Comics, Warner Bros., and, of course, Cartoon Network! Tralalala~ ignore me!
Warnings: This is the usual warning fight scenes, blood, slight torture, curses and obscenities, the uses of chemicals and crazy survival games. This chapter will have occult-like topics and ghost things… Not sure if that needs a warning, but you all know that one such as me (who is paranoid) needs to defend myself! (blushes)
Chinese Fairy: Go read chapter, it's more interesting than me!
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In the Place of Mortals
Chapter 4
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In the history of S.T.A.R Labs, there have been sixteen branches scattered across the United States; over the years, two have been retired and another was destroyed in the fight with Blockbuster and four of the Young Justice League.
From that fight stemmed the creation of the Young Justice team and the incarceration of Blockbuster, also known as Doctor Mark Desmond. The said criminal was taken to New Troy Island for temporarily housing. A month later, he was transferred to the S.T.A.R Labs in Austin, Texas where the scientists specialized in A.I., genetics and Metahuman studies. He underwent several attempts to return him to his human form, but none of the tests had proven fruitful, however, the scientists managed to restore Desmond's ability to speak.
Of course, after the doctor confirmed this for himself, he took a vow of silence since the ability was restored, but today, Batman planned to change that.
Branch 09 of S.T.A.R Labs was three stories high and it boasted an office building-like façade, which kept villains and other maniacs away from its premises.
The Dark Knight appeared in front of the specified laboratory and walked in without speaking to the receptionist located behind the desk in the lobby. She pushed her glasses higher onto the bridge of her nose to make sure she was really seeing Batman stroll into the building like any other employee and sat shell-shocked as he entered an elevator and he disappeared from sight.
When the doors slid shut, he pulled out of his utility belt a white card with a single black line of a barcode and slid it through an almost unnoticeable panel below the other button imbedded in the right side of the elevator. On the left side of the doors, three columns of buttons appeared, all titled floors, and a "B" indicating basement levels.
His gloved index finger pressed down on the button "B15" and stood ramrod still until the doors reopened to his desired destination. Batman stepped out and walked into an eggshell white painted hallway that had doors lining both walls of the corridor. His silent steps granted him a moment of peace as his mind continued reeling over what he and the League had witnessed only five minutes ago.
Kid Flash slid under the bulky enemy, jumped up and, with a strong downward thrust, he plunged the dulled knife into the armor plating protecting the neck.
The Boy Wonder ran at full speed in the direction of the second enemy and with one step, he jumped into the air and used the momentum to propel his lance deeper into his enemy's helmet.
The archer was not deterred by the oncoming enemy and easily aimed the bow at the helmet and fired.
Superboy joined the Boy Wonder and the Atlantean in the fight.
The said Atlantean moved him out of the way, but couldn't save himself from the sword as it struck his collarbone.
Miss. Martian picked up the diamond from the wreckage.
"Knock out gas!" Robin shouted and the others moved closer to one another. The youngest hero took the remains of his cape and tore clumps of it as something for the others to cover their mouths with, but it didn't work. In the span of a few minutes, they all fell into unconsciousness.
All of these memories were repeated in the amount of time it took the Bat to walk all the way down the hallway and reach the door opposite of the elevator. He punched in a five-digit code and was allowed access to the room. The first thing he saw from the doorway was a wall of four inch thick bulletproof glass. On his right was a metal desk that sat a hunched form, who was typing away on a keyboard.
He quietly made his way over to the man's side and spoke in his gruff voice, "Dr. Andrew Weiling," This caused the man to jump in his seat and when the man turned to face the Dark Knight his eyes were as wide as saucers.
Pale golden hair, which dangled limply against a forehead with greenhorn glasses outlining wide gray-blue eyes. The man took a moment to recollect himself before grinning, "You have to stop doing that, if you keep this up, I'm not going to make it to my 30th birthday."
He sighed and turned the swivel chair to face his guest. "You haven't come around since Desmond got his voice back. Too bad he doesn't feel like talking to you or your Justice League. He doesn't even want to talk to me; I'm starting to take it personally…" Shrugging, Dr. Andrew Weiling stood from his seat and took a step towards the glass wall.
"He doesn't talk to anyone, but he says things that keeps his voice box from falling into disuse." commented the man as he stared at the large bulky figure that was once Professor Mark Desmond. The Blockbuster creature was sitting on the white tile floor reading a book that seemed comically small in his hands.
Clearing his throat, Weiling pushed a button on the intercom located on his side of the glass wall and spoke, "Good afternoon Professor Desmond, you have a visitor today."
The being did not even glance up.
Exhaling, Dr. Weiling turned away from his patient and gave Batman a sympathetic look. "Hasn't changed from the last two months." Finally, the Dark Knight spoke, "I need him to talk; especially about the Light." Those words acted like a lightning bolt striking Desmond, because the giant looked over to the vigilante with hatred burning in those black orb eyes.
Weiling saw this movement as a breakthrough; smiling, he turned to Batman and asked quickly, "What is the 'Light'?" his eyes were now shimmering with a possible challenge for himself.
Ignoring the enthusiastic man beside him, Batman stepped closer to the glass wall and continued, "While you awaited your transfer in New Troy Island, you had a visit from Martian Manhunter. When he scanned your mind, he made out one thing you kept repeating, 'No one can stop the Light'… that is what you kept thinking about. Now tell me, what is the Light?"
This brought a chuckle from the monster's lips, then after a few moments a deep rumbling laughter echoed off the cell walls, which in turn, made Dr. Weiling aim a nervous look between villain and hero. When the mocking laughter died down, Blockbuster said, "The Light is the essence that will shine onto everyone and anything. Whatever you are facing now, the Light will envelop its intended target."
Scowling, Batman weighed his options: either ignore everything the League stands for and make the asshole in front of him talk, or go through the never ending channels until he could arrange an appointment where he could administer a truth serum to Desmond.
His Justice League communicator beeping to life cut off his near sadistic thoughts. His scowl deepened as he pressed against the earpiece in the right side of his cowl. "What is it?" he growled out. Weiling didn't pay Batman any attention, clutching a pen tightly in his left hand while writing down everything that just transpired between his patient and the vigilante.
Blockbuster was still smirking at him.
Superman's voice was heard through the com. "You need to get back here; now. Nero has something special for us to see." The Kryptonian's words made the Dark Knight's form rigid as replied coldly, "I'll be at the zeta-beam point in a minute." Without turning to either doctor or patient, he stalked out of the room and left without a backwards glance.
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When Batman returned to the Watchtower, he saw that only Superman was in the transport room with a pale face.
"What is the emergency?" when he asked this, the Dark Knight's voice has returned to his indifferent tone and his expression took on his infamous poker face. Superman frowned at the keyboard in front of him and without answering his friend's question, he stood from one of the seats and walked out of the room. Neither spoke until they reached the bridge of their space station.
"After the video concluded, the link to the site shut down and there was no way we could track it. Ten minutes after you left, J'onn received an e-mail from an untraceable account, it had a one and a half minute video attached to it." The two of them walked over to stand with the other League members who were crowding behind Martian Manhunter. The said Martian sensed the arrival of both founding heroes and spoke, "I attempted to track the ISP address, with no results. I then tried to track the location or general area of the sender and owner of the e-mail address, but nothing has proven fruitful. We have also not seen what is in the video."
Nodding, Batman motioned that he was ready and the green-skinned hero clicked play. The media file came to life and no one was surprised when Nero's voice was heard with only the bold print of "Nero" to be seen.
"Good morning Justice League. I am just sending you a message regarding your… Teenage troupe and I wanted you all to know that they are going to be just fine. Like I told them, they will be properly tended to by the best doctors I could hire." The voice sighed and there was a distinct sound of shuffling papers.
"I know you all may be feeling a little hostile towards me, but you need to understand: I need this; everyone in the world needs this. We need to all accept that you all are not as different from us in the sense that none of you are perfect.
"Then it just comes down to me not agreeing with the poor idiots in the world who can easily put more faith in Superman than Batman… Unfortunately, no one would really understand that, but enough about me!" his voice took on a lighter note, which had Batman grounding his teeth.
"I understand that the young man, Aqualad, has received an injury to his clavicle," this had Aquaman glaring at the screen with only a chair in his grasp to crush instead of Nero's neck. "I just wanted you to all know that I will make sure he receives the best of care and wondering if he has a higher cellular restoration gift in him. If so, then my idea will ensure he will recover just in time for the next round in our test. Until then, you all will have to wait five hours. In case you all need a reminder of time, here is my gift to you."
Red numbers replaced Nero's name and it was counting down from five hours, 34 minutes, and 49 seconds. "When this timer finishes its countdown, a link will appear for you to click on. I hope this will show you all that though I have kidnapped your teenagers, I still will treat them respectfully." With that, the audio shut off and all the League had to stare at was numbers now reading off
"5:33:01"
Not only was he tormenting them by dangling the younger heroes in front of them, but he was also whispering in their ears; saying, "Look what I can do to your Young Justice League and there is nothing you can do to save them."
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With nothing else but to wait for the time limit to shrink away to zero, the Justice League took this as a moment of forced rest. The Flash returned to Central City where a worried Iris Allen was waiting for news about her nephew. He was beamed down to Washington D.C to the Hall of Justice and he ran the rest of the way home; this was a chance to burn off his anxiety.
What would normally take a plane three hours and thirty minutes, takes the Fastest Man Alive mere minutes. When Barry Allen arrived at the doorsteps to his home, his restlessness had not waned and his shoulders still slumped in defeat. Slowly, painfully so, he trudged up the steps and heard his wife open the door for him. He didn't look up, but felt Iris's arms encircle him and, like something jolting him out of his daze, Barry clung onto her lithe form.
He didn't speak, so she whispered, "I… I saw the video…" his grasp on her tensed for a moment and he replied hoarsely, "I just can't believe this is what is going to happen to him… There's nothing I can do for him." Gently, she pulled back enough to press her lips to his.
He didn't respond to her kiss.
Concerned for her husband, Iris pulled the red cowl from his head and cupped his face into her hands. "Barry, you can't blame yourself for this. I thought we had this discussion before. I-I know that this is hard for all of us to watch these videos, but maybe something in them can give us a way of knowing where they are."
Once again, Barry did not respond.
Iris now lightly glared at her husband and huffed, "What would Wally say if he saw you like this?" her question brought confusion to his face and he locked eye contact with her. "What…?" he asked.
Smiling, she repeated the question. The speedster took a moment to think about the query and process the answer before he replied, "He would tease and laugh at me for being out of character…" he smiled sadly, "and he would joke and say that if I am going to be like this, then I should let him be 'the Flash'…" green eyes began watering. Barry left out a small sob as he finished answering her question, "He wouldn't like seeing me like this."
The tears escaped his eyes and he huddled into Iris's arms. There he was allowed to cry. In her arms he could pour out all his pain, frustration, and helplessness that not even the League was allowed to see.
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An explosive arrow flew from the nook of a bow and imbedded itself into the opposite wall before detonating and crumbling the concrete foundation of the room to rubble. Red Arrow was glaring daggers at anything his eyes found and soon returned to the same red numbers that were presented to the Watchtower.
Red Arrow glanced around the room in frustration. Surrounding him was a condemned building that was acting as his temporary base until he finished scanning all possible leads on where his friends were being held. Since their kidnapping, all searches had given him nothing. "The League couldn't find anything, why should I have any luck…?"
He scowled.
"I may not be part of the League, but I can still see the things they do thanks to Ollie…" his thoughts continued in a downward spiral as he faintly recalled all of the things that happened to Artemis and the team. He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. "I wonder how Ollie and Dinah are holding up?" a curse slipped past his lips and Roy slumped against his wall and into a sitting position onto the cold floor.
"I would have never imagined you to be a whiner."
The female voice snapped him out of his thoughts and in an instant Roy slid another arrow into the nook and turned to face the blade only inches away from his face. Poised above him was the person who both intrigued and annoyed the hell out of him: Cheshire.
Her white and red mask displayed no expression, hidden by her Cheshire grin, but immediately, Red Arrow felt something was off with the female assassin. He glanced down at her katana, still poised too close for comfort by his face and spoke, "What are you doing here?"
His question did not emit a response from her; a minute ticked passed, and when the two minute mark was about to elapse, she replied, "Why are you hiding in this old abandoned dirt heap when you could've found a better place to crash? I thought being BFFs with Green Arrow would give you some advantages."
These words made Red Arrow tighten his jaw out of reflex and he grounded out, "I'm not his sidekick or best friend. I chose here in case someone tried to follow me to one of my safe houses; good thing too. Now answer my question: what are you doing here?" In a risky sign of good faith, he dropped the arrow from its place perched on his bow and waited for Cheshire's next move.
Behind her mask, a delicate eyebrow rose and she allowed a soft mocking laugh to waft from her lips. Her sword was retracted into its compact form and she placed it back into its hiding spot, "I heard about what happened to your sidekick friends and thought I would pop in to see how you were coping. Ergo, you are such a whiner." Roy was tempted to pick up his neglected arrow, but she turned her back to him.
"Either she's that cocky or that crazy…" his thoughts were once again cut off by another action from her. She turned to his laptop and stared in the general direction of the red numbers. "I guess you have to be a good guy to get the numbers slapped in your face." His patience was now wearing thin. Red Arrow stood up quickly from his spot on the floor, which made Cheshire tense slightly, and he shouted, "If you're here just to mess with me, I'll haul your ass off to jail right now!"
Cheshire's toying demeanor disappeared as she turned her form to face him. "… I was wondering if you had any leads regarding their disappearance." This brought a harsh chuckle from the archer's lips and he asked between breaths, "You wanna know what the kids are up to?" he glared, "Not really your cup of tea."
She rested her fists against her hips in annoyance and retorted, "That is your forte, whiner, I'm here wondering how long you were going to wallow in self pity before getting on your feet to go and search for someone who can help give you a clue." Her words had his expression morphing into confusion.
"If the League can't find any clues to follow, what makes you think I can?" he folded his arms over his chest; she smirked behind her mask. "A pose for defending one's mental position…" she purred inwardly.
Taking two steps forward towards him, Cheshire stated in a nonchalant tone, "You got me. I can take you to someone who can possibly help." Now his body resumed his rigid posture and moved to pull an arrow from his quiver. She didn't respond to his action and stood there casually while the point of an arrow was directed at her mask.
"What makes you think that I would believe or trust anything you have to offer?" his words were hissed out in restrained anger. Continuing her casual attitude, the assassin shrugged her shoulders and said in an almost bored manner, "That guy, Nero, has something that holds a small value to me. I wanna ensure he doesn't keep it." She let out a small huff, "We have the same enemy and I'm not working at the moment. Call this a personal mission."
He eyed her skeptically. She smiled, similar to her favored Cheshire cat, "Fine, if you don't want to work with me on this mutual errand, then I'll go myself." She once again turned her back on him and began walking away. "Three, two, one…" she counted down in her mind and before she could reach zero, Roy spoke up, "Wait,"
Leisurely turning to face the archer, Cheshire waited from him to continue, "Let's get one thing straight, I don't trust you; I don't want to have anything to do with you, but if you have some information that could help me find my friends… then we'll work together on this." Cheshire grinned from behind her mask and offered him her hand, "It's a deal."
To her surprise, Red Arrow took her hand into his larger one and pulled her close, so close that his nose almost touched her mask, "I'm going to say this once, you betray me and anything happens to them because of it, and I'll hunt you to the ends of the Earth." She tilted her mask forward until her grinning teeth were pressed to his lips, "As lovely as you promising to become my new stalker sounds, I will do my best not to back stab you."
She pulled her hand back and glanced down to his laptop. "You're going to need that. Do you have a mode of transportation, or should I acquire one?" he frowned at her suggestion, "I have a jet parked outside." His response had her walking towards a general exit with him following her, his bow tucked in its place and his laptop tucked in his right arm.
"So, where are we going?" his question paused her mid-step and Cheshire glanced over her shoulder, "We're going to Japan."
As she continued sauntering towards his plane, he thought one thing he really wanted to voice out loud, "What the Hell?"
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The Bat Cave, which was usually a dank, dimmed setting by the lacking presence of light, brightened momentarily as the zeta-beam transportation flickered to life and Batman stepped away from the device and entered his grotto. Before he had the chance to remove his cowl, his white lens zeroed in on the supercomputer embedded in the opposite wall and paled when he saw those haunting red numbers taunting his third son, Timothy "Drake" Wayne.
The five-year-old boy was perched on Bruce's swivel chair with a spare Bat-cape being used as a blanket. Tim did not seem to notice the arrival of his father as he continued staring at the numbers now reading,
"4:23:19"
Quietly, the Dark Knight pulled off his gloves and dropped them onto a cart filled with medical supplies. He walked over to where Tim was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest and the cape clutched tightly in those little hands. Sighing inaudibly, he pulled off his cowl and Bruce Wayne spoke, "Tim," he whispered the name softly, but it caused the child to lurch forward.
Tim whimpered as he turned to face his father and the vigilante felt a stab of pain hit his chest as he saw those big blue eyes red from crying and semi-dried tear trails cascading down his cheeks. "Papa," the boy cried as he flung his form into his father's waiting arms. Bruce pulled him close and heard his son muffling words from the crook of his neck. "I-I saw what happened to Kaldur and Dick… the others…"
The Dark Knight cursed himself for not locking down the supercomputer, but kept it to himself. "Tim needs comfort now more than Batman needs to curse himself over an oversight." he reasoned mentally while he sat himself down into the swivel chair. Soft steps echoing through the darkness informed Bruce that Alfred was coming down the stairs that lead into the Bat Cave.
"Welcome back, Master Bruce-" the said butler cut off his words as he took in the sight of his surrogate son and grandson. Alfred's expression did not waver as he continued his way down the steps and placed his tray onto a table adjacent to the computer. Resting on his treasured tray was a coffee pot and two cups; one was already filled with what smelled like hot chocolate.
It took a few minutes of coaxing from Bruce to ease Tim into a sitting position and even longer to get the child to drink some coco milk. After a small gulp, the youngest son of Bruce Wayne placed his cup back onto the tray and spoke again, "I was looking through the Justice League database for any criminals capable of kidnapping four Metahumans and two protégés of heroes when the screen went dark and I was shown that… that 'Test of Mortals'… I heard what he planned to do with them and I saw what happened in the castle. He-Nero is using them and there is nothing I can do… It seems like there is nothing the League can do either." The child's voice began to waver as his eyes settled on Bruce's face.
"Am I going to lose my brother to this man?" Tim's bottom lip was quivering as he hoped with all his might that his father would quell his fear. Bruce hugged his youngest closer and replied with as much conviction as he could muster, "Not if I can help it, Tim."
The said billionaire wrapped Tim's form under the extra cape that the child found and allowed his son to doze off into a light slumber against his chest, while he brought up another window where he could attempt another scan of who posted the video. Batman did not get his hopes up.
His brown eyes flickered over to the red numbers that still displayed the timer and mentally cursed everything.
"3:59:02"
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Aquaman stared indifferently out into nothingness from one of the lounges with a window view of outer space. His blue eyes remained set and no matter how much time passed, he would not move. How long had it been since the video ended? Half an hour, an hour, two… was the five and a half hour countdown finished? It was hard for his mind to form a comprehensive thought.
"Kaldur…" he murmured; "Vuerd'ah… where… I can't…" his mind felt scattered and bleak, but he made no move to alter his posture. The King of the Oceans just stood in front of the window keeping him from drifting into oblivion.
A hand gently placed itself on his shoulder and slowly Orin turned to face his first friend of the Justice League: Martian Manhunter.
When Aquaman first joined the Justice League of America in its founding, seven years ago, he of course felt uneasy about being away from Atlantis and deep in the Surface World. The only reason King Orin took up Superman's offer to do something good for the world was because all seven members felt that the World needed protection and in Aquaman's case, Atlantis needed all the allies it could get. With a maniac called Black Manta swimming in his oceans, Orin thought the more allies he had, the better.
When the group first met in a mutual location, the one individual who could possibly understand him was the Martian Manhunter. J'onn felt his apprehension and was the one who convinced Orin to join the team of heroes. "You have a home you want to protect and people you want to keep safe… I know that feeling as do the rest of our allies. I also know the unease of which you look upon humans as I once did, but know that for every bad person out there, there is always one good person to counter them."
Those words comforted him and now, another awe-inspiring speech was needed from the Martian.
"J'onn, I apologize. I was not paying attention. What were you saying?" asked Aquaman. The said Martian offered a small smile and repeated his words, "I felt such distress coming from you, my friend and came to see if you required any of my assistance." The Atlantean stared into his faintly red glowing eyes and shook his head.
"I… do not know. I am not sure if I feel anything at the moment. I thought I would be angry, frustrated or even illogical, but I just cannot seem to keep a coherent thought." Aquaman's voice did not relay any of his turmoil, which only confirmed Martian Manhunter's theory of a distressed mind. "All I can see now is Kaldur injured and I wonder if Nero will truly help him."
J'onn placed a comforting hand onto his friend's shoulder and spoke soothingly, "I understand your fears, for I share them as well. We all worry about our young counterparts and with no lead for us to follow, our minds become scattered and that cannot be allowed. We all need to focus in order to be prepared for the chance to save the Young Justice team." Aquaman nodded slowly before his blank blue eyes regained some fight.
"Of course, J'onn. You are correct. Thank you for aiding me by returning my mind back to its rightful state." The automatic door that lead into the lounge swooshed open and Superman spoke from his place by the doorway. "There is a minute before the timer goes off." His words brought the other two Justice League members out of their private world and the three made their way back to the bridge where most of the League was waiting impatiently for the timer to finish.
"Did someone phone Bats?" asked the Flash as his right foot tapped in a fast rhythm against the floor. On cue, the Dark Knight entered the bridge with a slight bulge under his cape. When he sat down, Superman and the other saw a sleeping Tim Wayne in Batman's arms.
"He would not let go," was all he said and there was no room for questions.
"0:00:14"
The last seconds seemed to turn into hours as they counted down. Ten, nine… Black Canary took a supportive step closer to Green Arrow. Seven, six…The Flash stood from his seat in an attempt to stop his tapping. Three, two, one… a low "beep" sounded in the air of the Watchtower bridge and the numbers faded away and as promised by Nero, a link appeared. J'onn moved the mouse on the keyboard in front of him to click on the long URL and a second later, another video materialized.
The perfect bold word, "NERO" was shown while the latest sociopath began talking.
"Greetings, Justice League. I hope you all have had an enjoyable break from all the excitement. Now, as promised I will show you that I will keep my word to ensure Aqualad is given the proper medical attention. I didn't say how…" the last word was practically purred and Aquaman cursed him to the pits of Hell.
"It's time to wake up, Aqualad…" said Nero and the lights in a white room turned on to show Kaldur lying on a medical bed without his neck bracer.
The Fastest Man Alive spoke, "What the Hell…?"
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Darkness swallowed Kaldur'ahm's form, offering nothing. No pain, no understanding of the circumstances, he just saw black. Whenever he attempted to move a limb, nothing would happen; after the fourth time, Kaldur gave up and allowed his surroundings to keep him in oblivion.
Suddenly a voice spoke out to him. It was like listening to snow on the television. No real coherent sound, just white noise. As the sixteen-year-old continued listening to the noise and actually tried focusing on it, the noise morphed into a whisper that was too far to understand. Kaldur willed his body towards the voice and it felt like he was moving. Seconds passed and while his mind moved him in that one direction, the pitch darkness that surrounded him began mingling into gray, and soon light gray.
"It's time to wake up, Aqualad…"
Slowly, his eyes blinked open and in response to the blinding light, Aqualad placed his forearm over his eyes to protect them. "Where am I…?" he thought as his bleary vision attempted to take in the room. A moment later his mind caught up with his vision and he concluded, "I'm in my room," it was the room or cell that Nero gave him.
Cautiously, Kaldur sat up and winced as his shoulder protested his movement. "My left clavicle was broken when I protected Wally from the suit of armor…" he froze half way through his sitting position and tried to comprehend the odd feeling that swept through his body. Tentatively, his webbed hand touched the junction between his neck and shoulder and found no bracer confining him.
His wide blue-green eyes sharply turned to his hands and after a moment of concentrating, his tattoos began glowing a faint blue. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Nero's voice startled him to his feet and Kaldur called out, "Why have you removed by restraints?" chuckling from the speakers filled the room and Nero took several moments to express his enjoyment.
"Oh, Aqualad… I wanted to show the Justice League that I intend to make sure you receive the best care possible, so I took a gamble. As an Atlantean, do you heal faster than non-Metahumans?" the question allowed Kaldur to put two and two together. "You want me to heal faster, so you removed my power limiter." He should have seen this coming.
Another thing that his captor said caught his attention. "The League is being allowed to view my recovery?" disbelief painted his words and he mentally kicked himself. He should not be showing any signs of weakness; especially not while the Justice League was watching. Nero laughed and sighed, "Of course they are watching this, but this is not the real treat. I can't just remove your shackles without insurance. Now step outside and move to the lounge area. The rest of your team is waiting for you." The intercom beeped off and Nero left Kaldur alone.
Shaking his head slowly, the said teenager gently rolled his shoulder to feel how his injury faired. It was still sore, but the bone no longer pushed against his skin and when he traced the clavicle, it felt like it was restored to its normal place. "It should take another day to completely heal, until then…" his voice faded and Aqualad looked towards the wall that concealed the sliding door. He walked over to the panel and pushed on the trigger that opened the door.
The halls were empty of people and sound, but Kaldur vaguely remembered the way to the common room and made his way there. A couple minutes passed before he once again found the black and white metal doors that confirmed his destination.
Aqualad pushed the doors open and, true to Nero's words, the other five members of his team were waiting on the couches for him. Smiling, Kaldur approached his friends only to stop in horror as he saw what was attached to them. Artemis heard their leader walk towards them and turned to face him, only to show the Atlantean that something was attached to her chest.
Everyone had a circular metallic device strapped to his or her chests and they were all leisurely blinking red ever so often. "No…" he whispered in shock. Robin shifted his new accessory in an attempt to make it more bearable, but it didn't help.
"Nero wants you to get better quick so he can start the next round, but he doesn't want you to think of escaping." The Boy Wonder shifted his gaze to the floor with disgust clear on his face. Miss. Martian felt that Robin was finished speaking, so she said, "Nero has promised that if you try to leave or even think of using your abilities for anything whatsoever, the devices on our chests will explode and the games will end here."
Robin and M'gann were saying the words, but the statements sounded more like Nero was speaking through his friends and giving his own form of a threat. Conner and Wally were seated beside Artemis, but neither spoke or glanced his way. The archer stood up from her seat and hugged Kaldur. "Don't worry about us, just get better." Aqualad nodded numbly and returned the hug in reflex.
"If this is his method of keeping me 'in line', then it has worked." he murmured more to himself than to his friends. Wally sighed and stood up from his seat. "I know that this is part of the bargain, but why does he have to do this to us?" the speedster kicked a leg of the couch that Superboy was sitting on in a feeble attempt to cope with his frustration. Robin stood from his place and said in a monotone voice, "Nero wants to continue playing with us; he wants to make us feel like we are powerless and use every single possible way to keep us dancing to his tune."
A crackling sound came from his collar and the Boy Wonder only had a second to be confused before an electrical current surged from his bracer into his body. 50,000 volts ran through him, which disrupted his nervous system and caused his legs to lose their footing. The thirteen-year-old crumpled to the ground and his form convulsed violently. Immediately, Artemis and Wally were by his side, holding onto him in a small effort to stop the spasms.
"What the HELL is going on?" shouted Superboy as he turned to the camera on his right. "Why are you doing this to him!" the Kryptonian clutched his hands into fists; desperately wishing he could pick up one of the couches and throw it at the thing invading this sick moment.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Robin, but was only thirty seconds, the attack stopped and his body was allowed to slump into Kid Flash's arms. The speedster clung to his friend, scared that if he let go, the convulsions would come back. One of the door panels slid open and the same child walked into the room with his trademark white suit on.
"I'm sorry that this happened, but Robin should not be insulting my father. If all of you want to avoid this punishment, you will remember to hold your tongue from any negative comments you have of Sir Nero." Kaldur bit his inner cheek to hold back a cry of anger towards the little puppet dancing just like they were in Nero's hands. Conner began stalking towards the boy, but Miss. Martian and Artemis stopped him. "Don't provoke an attack!" hissed the archer as her arms wound around his chest and Megan's encircled his waist.
Paris stared at them with indifferent eyes and turned his head towards the dining table. "It is meal time, please come and eat." His words offered nothing, and the bipolar topics only fueled the contempt the team felt against their captors.
As an after thought, the child added, "If you are concerned about the Justice League, then don't. The small amount of filming was to ensure Aquaman that we will be tending to your injuries as promised." Paris turned away from them and stood by the table waiting for the heroes to move.
Aqualad was the first the move towards the table with M'gann following him. Artemis lingered to glance back at Robin before walking with her best friend. Wally helped the Boy Wonder to his feet, but Conner took the thirteen-year-old into his arms and carried him to the six-seat table.
Everyone sat in the same seating arrangement from their first meal and they took in the splendid food. Freshly baked bread rolls; a steaming platter of beef stew; white long rice covered by a type of curry sauce; lettuce as bedding for fruits and vegetables; and a heated bowl that kept a rich liquid chocolate ready for dipping marshmallows in. Their plates were fine china and the glasses looked frail.
Artemis scowled, "Damn Nero is testing us to see what will get a rise out of us!" her blue eyes moved to take in all of her teammates reactions to this sickly beautiful placement. Robin already came to the same conclusion as the archer and has masked his hate; this should be viewed as a meal, nothing more. Do not allow Nero to continue his mental assault.
Miss. Martian frowned in distaste at the stark difference from the warm setting yesterday. Aqualad must have had a semblance of the mind game and remained in control of his emotion since he picked up his glass and filled it with water. Superboy continued glaring at the pretty things in front of him with suspicion playing in his blue eyes. A gentle nudge from Robin snapped him out of his loathing of Nero to pick up a roll from the basket in front of him. Lastly, Wally dug into the rice and curry dish without batting an eye.
Smirking to herself, Artemis thought, "Either he doesn't notice the mind game going on or he doesn't want Nero to get the better of him." Her inner voice was agreeing to the latter. They all tucked in and like last time, the food was delicious.
Paris stood next to Aqualad for the entire meal; he didn't move, which made the Atlantean uneasy, but no matter what, the child remained in his place. Fifteen minutes passed before everyone placed their cutlery down to casually sip their drinks before Paris made himself noticed again.
"Now that you all have eaten and are partially rested, Sir Nero would like to begin the next test. Artemis and Robin, please come with me." This one statement killed the façade of a light mood and everyone tensed. "Why?" questioned the Boy Wonder with an air of masked suspicion.
Those large green eyes of Paris zeroed in on Robin's face and he replied, "I am not at liberty to say. Now please come with me or I will have to inform the orderlies of your lack of cooperation." Seconds ticked away into minutes before the two heroes stood from their seats. Kid Flash quickly grabbed hold of the archer's arm. "Don't go! God knows what Nero will do to you." His voice did not hide the sheer panic he felt for her. Superboy stood up in protest, blocking the Boy Wonder's path.
Artemis smiled and gently pried her arm away his hold. Robin sidestepped Superboy and they both walked over to Paris's side. "Lead on," urged Green Arrow's niece and the three left the room in a darker atmosphere than when the team found themselves in Nero's clutches.
Neither hero had ever walked down the path that the child was leading them down and after numerous turns, left and rights, the three found themselves in a sterile room where two metal tubes were supported by clamps hanging from the ceiling. Paris walked closer to the pods and placed a small hand onto one of them. "We shall place you in these tubes and once you are placed in your positions, the rest of your team will follow and the task will begin."
He walked over to a console where a scientist was working and began murmuring to him. Robin eyed the pod uncomfortably and turned to Artemis; he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "What do you think they will do with us?" she shrugged helplessly and replied in an already defeated tone, "Most likely use us against the rest of the team…" she sighed and glanced over to the two minions of Nero.
"What do you think his role is in this?" Robin's domino mask aligned with the child and the archer continued speaking, "I mean, he does everything his father says and it almost is like he is a mouthpiece for the guy." The younger of the two opened his mouth to reply, but Paris's indifferent voice spoke out first. "My role is to ensure you all do as my father wishes; if Sir Nero wants you to be rendered unconscious, then all I ask is 'for how long?' Whatever he wants is what he will be given. Regardless of my feelings."
It could have been a desperate attempt to find a weakness in his façade, or it could be because Batman has taught him well, but Robin noticed the minuscule reluctance that Paris's tone held on the last word. "Only someone trying to please an important person can have that tone down…" he would have liked more time to sort through the reasoning, but the man in a white lab coat scurried over with a clipboard tuck in the crook of his arm. Before speaking, sausage fingers adjusted coke-bottle glasses and he cleared his throat.
"Since you both will be unconscious for the upcoming task, I have been asked to remove your devices." Black eyes darted down to the explosive devices strapped to their chests. "Unfortunately, the collars will remain in case your friends reach you in time." He took a step closer to Artemis, but she matched his move by stepping back. Paris looked up from the computer, "I thought you were going to behave," he reasoned.
She glared at him and snapped back, "I may be doing this because I have no choice, but that doesn't mean that I will take this crap! I want to know what you are planning to do with us and I want to know now!" her voice escalated to the point that when she was finished speaking, she was shouting. Robin did not step in front of her to stop her since he was just as angry as she was.
The doctor glanced between the heroes and his master's son, wondering what will happen next. Paris typed something into the computer before turning to face the angered archer. "You both have been viewed as the keystones that hold your team together for this mission and Sir Nero will like to see how the Young Justice Team will fare without the brain and weapons user."
He waltzed over to Robin's side and placed a petit scanner close to the explosive and after a moment the red light vanished and a steady green light replaced it. He then clicked the buckles off and the device fell to the floor in a clatter. The nervous doctor hurriedly removed the one attached to Artemis and stepped back to continue working on the final touches on the pods.
Paris's height only allowed the top of his head to reach the "R" on Robin's suit, but his next words showed that the height difference did not impede on his job. "You will therefore be frozen like Mr. Freeze's wife and contained in a cryogenic coma until your teammates come and save you in the allotted time. If they do not find you within the hour, the tubes will flood with liquid nitrogen and you two will die." The simplicity held in his tone shook Artemis to her core and she quickly snapped, "I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS TO US! WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS! NOT TOYS!" she turned and snatched a screwdriver from a table to her left side and pulled Paris into her grasp.
Robin quickly followed her actions; he was driven by a fear that he hadn't felt since he nearly lost Batman to a run in with the Joker a year before. He easily placed the doctor into a chokehold and said in a slightly shaken voice, "You will remove our collars and then you will remove the things you have on our friends. Now." The man in his grasp whimpered pathetically, and replied in a whining tone, "I-I can't! Sir Nero will kill me if I did so!"
Paris kept his poker face on even as the tip of the screwdriver pushed uncomfortably into his neck, "You will not hurt me, Artemis." His statement had her glaring daggers at the crown of his head and she snapped, "What makes you think that?"
He tilted his head just enough so his eyes could see hers and replied, "A part of you knows that if we try and remove the collars, that my father will be alerted and everyone in your team will die. Also, you cannot hurt me because it goes against everything you stand for." Her conviction faltered under his words and without waiting for her respond, Paris gingerly removed himself from her hold and turned to stare at Robin until the said hero released his prisoner.
"I can understand that this next task is cruel, but it needs to be done." That was the closest they were going to get to sympathy. The doors leading into the cryogenic chambers opened and wisps of cold air blew against the heroes skin. Artemis shivered and took a frightened step back only for Robin to grab a hold of her hand. Fear was clouding her eyes as she gazed at those white lenses. He attempted to flash her a smile, but it seemed more like a grimace.
"We have to do this, if not for ourselves, then for the rest of the team." Just as Paris's words scared her, Robin's gave her back enough courage to nod in agreement. They both took the necessary steps towards the tubes before standing in front of the doorways.
Paris and the scientist both appeared by their sides and injected something into their upper left arms. "It is a relaxant that will help you before we freeze you," explained the man. Robin and Artemis's hand squeezed each other's hands in a move of reassurance before their hands released and they entered their pods.
Violent shivers shook their forms as the latches of their chambers clanged shut and before either knew what happened, the small spaces began filling with unearthly sparkling water. It rose to their knees and soon to their necks. Robin released a sound of protest while Artemis screamed out a resounding "no" from beside him, but the water kept rising. Soon it completely filled the tube and in a last ditch effort, they both tried to hold their breath.
Artemis was in a state of panic, so she was the first to gasp in the water and soon it filled her lungs; her body convulsed against the strange feeling from the water. It wasn't cold or hot, but a soothing sensation as it entered her system. After a few moments, Robin also caved into taking a breath and the shimmering water flooded his lungs. As he urged his entire being to try and view the new feeling logically, a calming sense, similar to procaine or Novocain, engulfed his mind and his mind drifted away from the scary situation he and Artemis found themselves in.
Their blue vision transitioned into black and their world disappeared into oblivion.
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Aquaman saw Kaldur moving freely through the white corridors and noticed that his vuerd'ah, or son, was already moving with more life back in his movement, and felt a small ray of hope. Seeing his son out of danger was what he needed to feel, that there might be some semblance of reason within the monster that took his son.
Just as Kaldur reached two doors painted black and white, the video feed went dead and the Atlantean roared in protest; clutching the computer screen in front of him until it crumbled under his grasp. No one of the Justice League moved to stop him as he continued yelling at the broken equipment.
After a moment longer, he stopped his incoherent shouting and turned to his teammates with shame on his face. "I… I apologize, it was not proper of me to lose control of myself." The Flash blurred over to his side and placed a hand on the king's shoulder. "There is no improper way to react to this insane situation. No one can foul you for worrying about Aqualad."
The said Atlantean nodded and slumped into the chair next to him; fatigue and lost will was clear in his hunched shoulders. The Justice League hated to see the regal King who came across as arrogant to most people seem so frail here in front them. The image of "NERO" in the same bold reappeared and the man's voice sounded from the speakers.
"Dear Justice League, I shall send you another link for the next task that is already in the progress of being set up for you and I hope you all are looking forward to the second act of the 'test of mortals'!" the line disconnected and he was once again gone.
Silence devoured all of the super heroes and only a drowsy Tim Wayne broke the atmosphere by speaking, "Aquaman, does Aqualad have healing abilities?" his question was in no way condescending or mocking, but a welcome to all the adults. The said Metahuman looked up from the floor and smiled a small smile at the child, "Yes, us Atlanteans have a fast cell regenerating immune system. He shall be completely healed by tomorrow." He did not add, "depending on if Nero will give Aqualad the time to recuperate."
Tim snuggled into his father's arms and yawned; this informed the Dark Knight of a curfew being broken as he sat here with his youngest son in his arms. He stood up from his seat and said as he walked out of the bridge, "I will be in my room; call me when the link appears." And the automatic doors slid shut.
Another bout of waiting was possibly worse than anything else Nero could do to the League.
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Nearly an entire day of waiting drove the Justice League into madness as each member constantly checked the super computer located in the main section of the bridge in order to make sure no one missed the updated link.
More criminal files were read to pass the first five hours.
Batman and Tim both burned away another five hours by attempting to psychoanalyze Nero, "He is not a young man; he lacks the impulsive drive and judging by his cruel mental game of making us wait, he has too much patience…"
Black Canary and Green Arrow tried to inform Red Arrow of the incoming link, but Roy did not respond to their hails.
Finally, after thoroughly butchering the training room built for the League's use down in the Hall of Justice, Martian Manhunter informed every League member of the newly arrived video link.
Once again, the bridge of the Watchtower was flooded with heroes as the Martian clicked on the new link that lead them to the same site where they watched the first mission.
"WELCOME TO THE TEST OF MORTALS"
Once again, these words filled the entire viewing screen and Nero was once again speaking to everyone in the world who found his video. "Hello again everyone! As you all know my name by now, I will immediately jump into the second task placed before our young heroes!"
Confusion permeated the bridge as only Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss. Martian, and Superboy were standing in front of what can only be described as an old temple. Vines and other foliage were growing over most of the structure, ensuring that it was held together to last another century with Mother Nature's aid.
Nero continued speaking, "Now all you viewers must be wondering where Artemis and Robin are, and here is where the twist will come in. Robin acts as the brain of the team with Artemis playing the role of weapons specialist. This became clear during the first test and now I must see if the Metahumans of the Young Justice team have learned anything from their teammates.
"Listen closely, young heroes!" it was inferred that he was now talking solely to the four heroes. "You will have one hour to find your stolen teammates in this isolated course. If you fail to do so, then they will be left to die in the cryogenic slumber that holds them now." The footage of the four teenagers was replaced with see through glass chambers holding the Boy Wonder and archer suspended in sparkling blue water for everyone to see.
Tim let out a pained cry as he say his brother in another prison and Batman tightened his hold on the armrests that his gloved hands dug into. Black Canary hid her face in Oliver's green tunic as he wrapped his arms protectively around her form.
The remaining Young Justice team must have seen this as well, since all the color in their faces were gone. Nero now spoke to everyone, whether they were standing in front of a temple or viewing this new mission on a screen, "Let the second mission begin!"
Time now held everyone by the throat and only four teenagers could save their teammates and the two League members who viewed the incapacitated youths as their own children.
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Chinese Fairy: Woo! Another chapter, another mission beginning! I hope this was up to everyone's standards and the reason I keep showing how the Justice League reacting to the missions is because I think we need more light shining on them! They are characters of the D.C universe too!
Please excuse any grammatical errors and mistakes (my Mei Mei helped me with this chapter as well) *tohoho*
AND PEOPLE! A LOT OF YOU VIEW MY STORIES AND A LOT OF YOU DO NOT REVIEW! COME ON! YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE WRITING, I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRICIATE FEEDBACK! I may not have updated like an addict, but I still am updating! Writer's block can hit and the only way to unblock writer's block is to get reviews! Many people favorite and that's it! NOT COOL!
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