Discoveries


I'm kinda disappointed that not a lot of people reviewed about the fact that I just killed off the main character. Enjoy!


Needless to say, when Batman presented his information to the Justice League, it was not received well.

"There's no way Superman killed Raven!" Warhawk snapped, "He loved her too much!"

"He was the one who came to you, and now you're accusing him of murder! It doesn't make sense!" Barda agreed.

"I know it doesn't. But we're never going to get to the bottom of this unless you stop being so pigheaded!" Batman argued and Aquagirl and Green Lantern winced. That would not go over well with Barda.

"Pigheaded?!" Batman then received a punch to the face, causing him to fly back and hit the wall. She went to hit him again, but a green glow surrounded her fist, pulling her back as a green bubble formed around her. "Let go of me, Lantern!" she hissed and Green Lantern shook his head.

"Not until you calm down."

"Yeah, Barda, calm down. Batman's right," a soft voice came from the shadows. The mysterious figure stepped into the light and everyone froze. Green Lantern let go of Barda in shock.

"Ariel!" Barda ran forward and practically squeezed the life out of the teenage girl as she gasped.

"Choking...not...breathing...!" Barda immediately dropped her as she massaged her throat. "Jeez, Barda, are you trying to finish me off since the explosion didn't?!"

"But how did you survive?" Aquagirl asked, stepping forward as Raven grinned sheepishly, brushing a stray lock of black hair out of her eyes.

"Guess I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?" They all nodded mutely. "When I got the emergency call and no one else did, I realized something was wrong, so I took off my cloak and made it look as though I was wearing it. I used my powers to get it up to the missile. After everything died down, I went home, grabbed another cloak, and came back here."

"I could kill you for making us worry like that!" Barda snapped as Raven winced.

"I was only gone a few hours."

"A few hours in which we thought you were dead! Were you trying to give us heart attacks?!" Warhawk exclaimed.

"I didn't think I was that convincing," she admitted, chuckling.

"Yeah, well, you definitely convinced us," Batman said and she stopped laughing, an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry." He reached forward and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Thank God you're okay," he whispered as she blushed. Aquagirl and Barda smirked as Raven narrowed her sapphire eyes at them in warning.

"So you think Superman really is the traitor?" Aquagirl asked when Batman let Raven go.

"I saw him trigger the explosion. You'd think that if I was annoying him, he would've just said so instead of trying to off me," Raven smirked.

"It's not funny, Raven!" Warhawk said angrily as the smile dropped from the teenage girl's face.

"I know." Her gaze dropped to the floor. "Kal wouldn't hurt me on purpose. I know he wouldn't."

"He's under some kind of mind control. That's the only logical explanation," Batman stated.

"I say we talk to him before making any assumptions, though," Raven suggested, heading for the door as the others followed.

"Right, and then we rip his arms off," Warhawk said with a smirk before wincing as Raven punched him in the arm.


"We need to talk," Barda said as they entered the room Micron was kept in, Raven at the back of the group. Superman had been fiddling around with Micron's status board, but quickly turned. Raven suspected he was trying to finish the job.

"What is it?" Raven stepped forward, noting the surprise on his face, but the lifeless look in his eyes.

"Hi, Kal."

"Ariel? How did you-?" he began, eyes wide.

"That's not important," she cut him off. If something really was controlling him, she didn't want whatever it was to know how she had survived. "Something's bothering you, now what is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said defensively, moving instinctively away.

"Dad..." She only called him 'Dad' when she was sincerely worried, which wasn't often. She moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder, but then screamed as something tore through his uniform before scuttling out of sight to rest on his shoulder.

"What the-" Warhawk began before Superman tossed him at the wall. Raven noticed Batman pulling something out of his utility belt that was slightly glowing green and she gasped.

"Is that-?" He shushed her quickly, but then Superman backhanded him, sending the Kryptonite piece into a grate. "You can't seriously be planning to use that on him?!" she hissed as he ran over to the grate, attempting to fish it out. "It'll-" Her voice choked and then she finished in a whisper, "It'll kill him."

"I know. But we have to stop him, no matter what it takes," Batman replied and then gave up trying to get the piece out. Instead, he completely ripped away the bars covering the grate before picking it up. Before he could use it, however, Superman had smashed a hole into the wall before flying away.

"...well, this sucks," Raven spoke finally and everyone merely gave weak grins or nodded in agreement.


"So where do you think he could have gone?" Aquagirl asked as they sat in the medical lab, treating Warhawk's injuries. He had apparently sustained a few cuts during the fight.

"Probably to his Fortress," Batman said as Raven cringed. She hated the Fortress of Solitude, even though she had only been there once. The alien creatures there scared her.

"Do you know where it is?" Barda asked her.

"Why are you asking me?" she retorted.

"You are his adopted daughter," Warhawk pointed out and she sighed.

"Yeah, I know where it is. The Antarctic." Barda brought out her boom tube remote. "No!" Raven protested.

"How else do you suggest we get there?" Barda argued.

"Any way other than the boom tube! I hate that thing!" Raven snapped.

"Raven, it's the fastest way of getting there," Green Lantern stated and she sighed in resignation.

"Fine. But no laughing when I fall. And I will fall." Warhawk and Aquagirl smirked as Barda handed Raven the remote. Picturing the entrance to the Fortress of Solitude in her head, Raven activated the boom tube, causing the portal to form. Most of the League made it through without a problem, but Raven and Batman ended up tripping and falling. "Told you," Raven said with a chuckle, leaping to her feet and helping Batman up as he grumbled quietly to himself.

"Which way?" Green Lantern asked and Raven calmed down enough to walk forward down a path.

"Kal brought me here once when I was little. I got so scared by the creatures that-EEP!" One slug-like creature threw itself at the wall of the tank it was in, making a squelching noise as it popped off. "Guess they remember me." She stuck her tongue out at the slug, which gave it incentive to bang against the glass once more, repeating the squelching sound. "That's right, throw yourself at me all you want, but you can't get me!" Batman smiled and shook his head at Raven's immaturity.

"This one's empty," he said, looking into an open tank.

"Something was in here, all right," Green Lantern said, pointing at some blue balls.

"What is it, food?" Batman asked, picking one up as Raven snickered.

"Used to be," she commented, smirking as his eyes widened in comprehension.

"Ugh!" He flicked the ball away and they left the tank.

"Look!" Aquagirl pointed to the end of the hallway where Superman was standing in the shadows. Batman threw a Batarang, which sliced off his head as Raven yelped in shock.

"Calm down, it's just a robot," Batman reassured her, picking up the android's head and showing it to her as she visibly exhaled in relief. Then he suddenly threw a rope behind her and she turned to find another Superman with his hands tied. He smirked and pulled on the rope, causing Batman to lose his balance and fall.

"Yep, that's the real him," Raven noted. Batman let go of the rope and pulled out the Kryptonite, showing it to Superman's face as he backed away from the greenish glow, shielding himself. Eventually, however, he collapsed and Raven raced to his side, pulling off her hood to show her worried expression.

"Careful, Air," Warhawk cautioned as she gently pressed two fingers to Superman's neck and then relaxed when she felt a steady pulse.

"Now's a good time as any to find out what that thing is," Barda stated, pulling off the top half of Superman's costume. Then everyone except for Batman and Ariel backed away upon seeing the creature that was controlling the Man of Steel.


Sorry it took longer to update this chapter, but I didn't have time. I had to visit my aunt in her house and Internet wasn't working there, so then I had to come back and then my cousin stole her laptop back for two hours to check her email and by then it was 7 and I was exhausted (jetlag never really wore off for me).

Now y'all didn't actually think I killed Ariel, do you? XDDDD

R&R!