The Loss

Um...running out of things to say...enjoy!

"I heard what happened," Superman said as he and Raven stood behind Batman.

"I'm running a diagnostic on the tank's operating system," Batman replied.

"To see if it really was a malfunction?" Raven asked and got a nod in return. Something beeped and he bent down, retrieving a green chip from underneath the console board.

"This micro-controller's burned out. All its circuits are fused." He held out the chip and Superman took it.

"Sabotage," he muttered and Raven and Batman exchanged a triumphant look. They had been right. "This confirms it," Superman said as he crushed the chip, "There's a traitor among us." This time, the two teenagers exchanged a surprised look.

"So you trust him now?" Raven asked Aquagirl as she sat down beside her on the examination table.

"He did save me." Raven shot her a hurt look. "Along with you, of course."

"Thank you," Raven smirked as Aquagirl smiled.

"You like him, don't you?"

"Oh, no!" Raven moaned, "First Barda, then you..."

"So it's true!" Aquagirl squealed as Raven sighed, removing her hood.

"Yeah, I like him." Aquagirl smirked at the younger girl. "You wouldn't blame me if you saw him without the mask. He's drop dead gorgeous," Ariel informed her.

"That cute, huh?" Ariel nodded. "Better get him before it's too late."

"It is too late, he told me he has a girlfriend," Ariel sighed dejectedly as Aquagirl patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"There are other fish in the sea. No pun intended," she added quickly as Ariel laughed.

"But he's the only fish I want," the teenage girl admitted. Aquagirl was saved from a response when an alarm rang through the Watchtower. "Trouble," Ariel stated, pulling her hood back on and the two left the room.

"So we should spread out over the city?" Raven asked as she floated beside Superman.

"That seems like the best we can do." An explosion sounded over the water somewhere. "Go with Aquagirl and see what that was." She nodded, turning in that direction and flying off.

"What happened?" she asked as she hovered above the water beside Aquagirl, who was riding a shark.

"A boat exploded," she explained, "Did Superman tell you to come with me?" Raven nodded. "We need to get the people to safety." Raven nodded once more before lifting two people at once with her telekinesis and moving them to the shore. Aquagirl called some dolphins to rescue the others. Eventually, they got everyone to safety and Superman arrived to put the fire on the boat out.

"Raven, I told Batman to stay near you, okay?" She nodded, ignoring Aquagirl's knowing smirk, before lifting into the air and returning to the city, where Batman was waiting inside his Batmobile.

"Superman said-" Batman began and she cut him off.

"I know, he told me. Just keep your distance, though," she instructed and then took out her commlink. An emergency call was coming in and she looked up. "You getting a call from the JLU frequency?"

"No." She frowned, looking back down at her commlink, where the word Emergency repeatedly flashed in bright red.

"Wait here," she said, diving down into a building as he waited patiently. Then he noticed a missile headed for the city and called Raven on her commlink.

"Raven-"

"I see it. I'll be out in a second," she interrupted and, within seconds, he saw her appear and fly off towards the missile. She managed to pull it away from the city with her telekinesis before she landed on it, trying to see if she could turn it off. Suddenly, Batman's eyes widened as the missile exploded.

He tried to pilot the Batmobile towards the explosion, but the blast pushed him away, causing the hovercar to crash into the street below. He groaned, pushing his way out of the wreck just as a blue cloth fluttered to the ground. Picking it up slowly, he realized it was Raven's cloak.

"Ariel..." he whispered, closing his eyes and holding the tattered cloth tightly.

"What happened, where's-?" Barda began as she, Warhawk, and Aquagirl came over, but then they all froze when they saw the cloak.

"Oh God, not her," Warhawk said, eyes wide as he took a step back.

"Raven..." Aquagirl murmured, dropping onto her knees and burying her face in her hands.

They all knew it had happened, but didn't want to accept it; Ariel Swan was no more.

"There has to be some reason the thing exploded just as Ariel landed on it," Terry said in the cave as Bruce tapped away on the Batcomputer, recapturing the footage of the event.

"There is." The old man switched the computer to a different point of view and pointed at the screen. "There. Something triggered that explosion."

"Where is it coming from?" Terry asked.

"Computer. Pan left." The computer moved to show the edge of the city and the person who had triggered the blast.

"Superman," Terry whispered, eyes wide. The screen showed Superman with red lasers coming out of his eyes. "Superman's the traitor," he realized, bowing his head.

"One problem." Terry looked up confusedly. "Superman would never hurt Ariel of his own free will. He loved her more than anything."

"Mind control?" Terry suggested and Bruce nodded thoughtfully.

"Could be. It seems like the only logical explanation."

"Think she could have survived?" Terry asked hopefully and Bruce gave him a condescending look before playing the footage again. Terry winced as he relived the explosion.

"What do you think?" Terry's only response was to close his eyes miserably.

Ah, Bruce is so mean, making Terry see it over and over again. R&R!