Hello there, everyone! It's me, SuperHeroTimeFan again, finally back with another new chapter for A New Duel! Sorry that it's been a while, but I've been very busy with school and activities. I hope that you all can understand. Thank you, Darkest Nightmare's Dread, Infinite Freedom, KINGREADER, tygrad, and glowingqueen, as well as all of the Guest reviewers for supporting me so far. With no questions to be answered, let me move onto my newest chapter! Please be sure to review, rate, and as always, enjoy!
Chapter 8: Followers
San Campion, November 17th 2314 Hours PDT
After the Choten had met with his superiors and introduced former Duel Master Nigel Brightmore to Alexander Carnahan, Alex and his son, Carny Carnahan, scheduled a meeting with the Choten himself and Nigel near midnight. It was still storming, but Alex was more focused on the matter at hand, as he spoke severely with his son.
"Assuming you don't do something stupid to disgrace the family name, you may end up inheriting this business some day." He curtly said to his son. "So keep your mouth shut, and you may actually learn something."
Carny, being silent and stoic the whole time, then noticed a Veil being opened. His father turned around, and out came the Choten, Nigel, and last but not least, someone who surprised Carny a lot, was Ravu, Seeker of Lightning. Carny gasped at this sight. Even though he was told to be quiet, he couldn't help but express his anger. "Not that thing again!" he exclaimed.
Alex sighed with anger as he tried to keep a serious look on his face and ignoring his son. His mood suddenly changed when he saw Carny take a step forwards. Quickly, he stopped him. "I owe that thing a smackdown for taking orders from that pudge-nerd, Gabe!" he remarked.
Nigel soon stepped up and placed his hand into the air. "You'll find this Creature is much more obedient under my control." The Duel Master stated.
The Choten, all this time, kept a smile on his face. "Please forgive the theatrics, Mr. Carnahan." He stated. He then looked to his watch and glared before putting back his smile and stepping towards the underground businessman. "Now that I'm stationed on the other side of the Veil, I must take… certain precautions. The rest of my colleagues are scattered everywhere, and I must go to take drastic measures." August added on. "Tell me, how does it feel to be a war profiteer?"
"How profitable are we talking?" Alexander asked with interest, raising an eyebrow as he listened.
"Extremely." The Choten stated, gesturing his hand over to Ravu. "Only as long as you back the winning side. In this case, the side with the most powerful and obedient Creatures."
"When do we get to meet with your… superiors?" Alexander asked.
"That doesn't matter right now." The Choten quickly replied back, his devilish grin still implanted onto his face. "But being on the winning side is why I propose that you step up your role in my new… Order, by beginning mass-production of my Evolution Serum."
Alex placed a hand to his goatee, impressed by everything he had just heard. "Well, that would be quite a costly venture." The businessman admitted. He was indeed impressed, but a bit skeptical. "But what sort of precedent would I be setting if I made a big decision without any proof that this thing stuff works?"
"Master Brightmore," the Choten started out. Nigel kept his stoic expression as his friend walked over next to him. "Demonstrate the Serum on your Creature for our business partner."
Nigel looked absolutely shocked by this. The Choten took notice of this and grinned. "Why the trouble, Nigel Old Bean?" August asked. "Surely, you haven't developed an attachment for this… Creature." He taunted.
Nigel, trying to deny this, glared and grabbed the Serum Enhancer from the Choten. Carefully, he looked up to Ravu with suspense. Years of fighting at his side, and yet, Brightmore actually felt some pity. He injected the Serum into Ravu, causing sparks to fly. The Choten, Alexander and Carny all watched in surprise at this. Carny gaped at this, but then closed his mouth and grinned. "Awesome!" was all he could exclaim.
The next morning, the students of the San Campion Elementary school was taken on a field trip to the aquarium. Everyone watched the animals swim through the water, but none of them were impressed. A Stingray swam up, getting Mr. Boyd to get everyone's attention. "And if you pay attention, class, you get to see a rare sight of a Stingray's mouth on its underside." He stated.
Allie looked to Gabe and Ray and rolled her eyes. "Is it just me, or were these things a lot cooler before we went to the Water Realm?" she drawled, now not seeing any interest in the water mammals anymore.
Gabe walked up to a window while Ray and Allie moved on. Gabe took out his phone and prepared to take a picture of some starfish. "Even so, I still find it quite–" Gabe started out, but then Carny purposely bumped into Gabe, causing him to drop his phone and bump against the glass.
Ray and Allie turned around when they heard this as Nickles and Biggs stood with him. "Don't tap the glass." He teased, causing his lackeys to laugh. "It bothers the fish." Carny added on before laughing himself. He then looked to the ground and then kicked aside Gabe's phone.
Allie stepped up besides the laughing lackeys and looked Nickles straight in the eye, causing him to step back. "Great material, Nickles. It's just as not funny the second time!" she reprimanded.
Gabe then started to panic as he searched the ground. "Um, has anyone seen my phone?" he asked.
Ray sighed and helped Gabe up. "Come on. We'll report it to the 'Lost And Found.'" The Natural stated. The three then walked off, leaving Carny and his lackeys looking at them with amusement.
"Fish are stupid." Nickles stated dryly. "I'm bored."
Carny looked around before turning back to his gang and whispering, "I've got something much cooler to show you."
As they walked off to a barred-off room, Lucy, one of the new students walked by and noticed a blue phone on the ground.
"Hey! Did anyone drop this?" she asked. Since no one answered, she picked it up. "Top of the line. Must be Gabe's." Lucy said to herself. Curious to know more about the phone, she scrolled on it, seeing what kind of features were available. However, upon pressing a videos file, she gasped when she saw something horrific.
Meanwhile, Carny led his gang behind the barred entrance of the aquarium and into a room full of more fish. "You're showing us a window?" Nickles asked in disbelief before scoffing. "I have, like, a ton of these in my house."
"Yeah?" Carny asked sinisterly. He then reached into his bag and pulled out his Tech Gauntlet. "Bet you don't have one of these in your house!" he exclaimed. His gang looked in surprise as Carny then started to extend his hand forward. "Simian Warrior, Grash!" he yelled out, letting the middle three fingers grab Grash from the Creature Realm while the two outer fingers kept the tear in the Veil open. The blue, robotic Creature known as Grash soon appeared, much to everyone's shock. Carny laughed madly as he aimed his Gauntlet at his friends, ordering Grash to attack them by launching its missiles.
The booms of the event were heard across the aquarium, as Ray, Gabe and Allie both met up with Kaldur and M'gann, both there undercover. "Um, ignore the construction, class." Mr. Boyd said with uncertainty. "Follow me to the Sea-Star tank." He then ordered. "It's time to touch stuff." He added on, trying to get the students excited.
Ray, Gabe, Allie, Aqualad, and Miss Martian all looked to each other with horror. "Carny!" the three Duelists then exclaimed. "Let's get to him and put an end to Carny's mindless destruction!" Kaldur ordered.
Before the three could walk off, Lucy got in their way. She had an angry look on her face as she looked to Gabe, in the middle of the five. "You've got some explaining to do!" she exclaimed, holding up the phone to Gabe's face. The phone showed a video of Lucy holding a fire-picker, and she was in a sword-fight with some sort of ghostly pirate.
Gabe gasped and grabbed the phone. "My phone!" he exclaimed. Lucy only gave all of them a nasty glare before Gabe then cleared up his throat. "I mean, that's not my– I-I mean…"
"Where'd that video come from, and how the heck am I in it?!" Lucy demanded.
The Duelists were in shock. Lucy came to their school a while back, and in an attempt to get Lucy to bond with the other girls, Portia and Maribel, Allie got them all together for a sleepover. However, since Alakshmi attacked them due to the three using a Spectral Pirate to make things exciting, Lucy, Portia and Maribel were all witnesses of the attack. Nigel Brightmore erased their memories after they defeated Alakshmi, and now, since Lucy had seen a forgotten memory, none of them knew what to think.
"Well?" Lucy asked, waiting for an explanation. The three Duelists then began to overlap with blatant lies, while Kaldur and M'gann looked to each other in confusion. "Something tells me that this is not going to end well." Kaldur stated as they watched the Duelists' feeble attempts to try to get Lucy off their backs.
Meanwhile, Carny laughed as Grash continued to attack the gang. However, while he was slamming his hand against his knee, it caused more missiles to come from the knees of Grash, which shot at the glass. Carny's eyes widened with surprise when he saw this. "Whoa! Didn't know you could do that!" he exclaimed, but then snapped to realization when he saw that water was starting to leak in. "Uh-Oh." Carny said as his gang started to run away.
Ray and Gabe continued to stutter in an attempt to explain to Lucy what was going on. Seeing as how the boys were having no luck, she decided to take over.
"Gabe has been getting into making… computer animation!" she exclaimed, getting the others to look to Allie. "A-and stuff."
"Um, yeah." Gabe added on while Lucy kept her arms crossed with skepticism. "I'm, uh, really good!" Gabe stated.
Just then, Ray saw Carny's gang run by. "Guys?" he asked, getting everyone's attention. All six of the teens stopped to watch them pass by in surprise at their horror. Kaldur looked to Ray, and the two nodded before the five of them ran off to where the gang was running from. Lucy, still demanding answers, however, took out her own phone and started to follow them.
Carny looked up frantically to the mess that Grash made before noticing the three Duelists, Aqualad and M'gann enter the room. He quickly banished his Creature before running off and yelling, "I didn't do it!"
Allie groaned at this outcome of events. "Ugh, the only one thing worse than a stupid bully is a stupid bully with a Dueling Gauntlet!"
"If that thing busts…" Ray started out while the three got out their own Gauntlets and M'gann and Aqualad taking off their civilian attire, revealing their true gear.
"All of San Campion Bay will come flooding into the aquarium!" Gabe finished up.
"Time to patch this leak." M'gann quipped as the Duelists then began to activate their Gauntlets.
"I'll get everyone else out of here!" Allie stated before performing a Summoning Kata for the Water Civilization. "Steamstar Grapplog!" she yelled out, summoning the squid-like Creature. "I'll help too!" M'gann called out. Aqualad and Ray both nodded to them wishing them good luck. With that, Allie and M'gann ran to the hallway.
"Tatsurion the Unchained!" Ray yelled out, summoning Bob to help.
"Reef Prince, Glu-urrgle!" Gabe then yelled out, summoning Gargle to help out as well.
Bob looked around and snarled. "Who are we fighting?" he asked angrily.
"This job does not require malice, but repair." Aqualad explained. "It's more of a fixing job rather than a fighting one." Ray translated.
Ray then turned his head to the broken glass. Tatsurion started to press his hands against the glass as the water started to pour down onto his back. "This better be a fast fixing mission!" he exclaimed.
"Initiating Fast Fixing Mode!" Gargle exclaimed as he grabbed a large pipe, then some bags of plaster, and finally, a statue of a fish.
Back in the hallway, Allie looked over to Grapplog. "Okay, Steamie! Do your thing!" she exclaimed. Steamstar then placed all of its tentacles forwards and sprayed steam all over the place.
Mr. Boyd and the students all looked to the smoke as Allie then emerged. "Mr. Boyd, a pipe just burst!" she exclaimed. To prove her point, M'gann, now invisible, caused three pipes to fall from the ceiling, getting everyone surprised.
"Okay, everyone, don't panic." Mr. Boyd said to the class. "Just follow me carefully to the exit."
Allie turned around and smiled, but that smile soon faded away as Lucy stood there, appearing without even making a sound. She gave Allie a stern look as M'gann stopped herself just in time to remain hidden from Lucy's eyes. Allie chuckled nervously before running off with the rest of the class while M'gann flew back to the others.
Meanwhile, Bob continued to hold up the broken glass, much to his dismay. "You know how much I hate water, right?!" he yelled to Ray, Gabe, Kaldur and Gargle. "No offense, Aqualad." Tatsurion then added on.
"Repair mode enabled." Gargle announced, standing on top of his invention. Gabe and Aqualad both ran over as M'gann flew in. "Lucy stopped Allie from coming back in. She's stuck with the others." The Martian reported.
"You did your best, M'gann." Gabe said. Gargle squealed as he looked to his own invention with pride. "Input: Sound, Output: Glass!"
"Cool!" Gabe said. Aqualad thought it to be an interesting piece as well. "Let's–" Gabe started out as he carried a sack of plaster. However, it was too heavy for him to carry.
Tatsurion sighed as he turned around. "Do I have to do everything around here?" he wondered to himself. As he left the window, more water started to pour in. Aqualad immediately unsheathed his Water-Bearers and started to redirect the water while M'gann tried to keep as much water from pouring in as she could.
Ray then ran over to Gabe, grabbing the sack. "Not everything." He stated. With that, they poured the plaster into the input machine, and Tatsurion blasted it at the glass, sealing it shut with a hot and powerful blast.
Ray, Gabe, M'gann and Kaldur all smiled at their success. Ray and Gabe quickly banished their Creatures back to the Creature Realm before removing their Gauntlets. "Mission accomplished, day saved…" Ray started out.
The four then walked outside, with Allie waiting. She felt a bit guilty for having to leave her friends to put up a good cover. However, upon seeing them come out, a smile grew on her face. "And civilians are completely clueless." Gabe finished up.
The smile on Allie's face started to lessen and she gasped when she noticed that Lucy was leaning against a wall, having heard everything that they said. She raised an eyebrow in interest before looking to her phone. "Clueless about what?" she asked herself. On her phone revealed to be a picture of Carny posing in front of Grash. "How long have people not have even known about this stuff?" she asked herself again before walking off.
Mount Justice 2014 Hours EDT
Robin looked at the holoscreens, trying to find some useful information for helping the Duel Masters. Zatanna walked up to him, wearing a little black dress and red loose bracelets. "You should take a break." The mage stated.
The Boy Wonder sighed and chuckled as he turned to Zatanna. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. Zatanna had her hand on her hip and tilting her body to the side as Robin inspected her. "What's the big event?" he asked.
"The Cave's empty, I got bored, you get the gist." Zatanna replied back. Dick chuckled nervously as he turned back to the holocomputer, secretly blushing. All of a sudden, he came across something on the web that made both him and Zatanna gasp.
"Should we let the others know?" Zatanna asked. Robin nodded before they both ran off to get the rest of the Team.
San Campion 2025 Hours PDT
"No! There's no way we are watching your stupid robot show again!" Allie exclaimed as she glared at Ray, the two watching television while their parents were out.
"It's hard to make demands when you don't have the remote!" Ray remarked, waving the TV remote in front of Allie's face. Allie just smirked and tried to grab it, but Ray quickly and playfully pulled it away from her. "Yoink!" he exclaimed.
Allie growled as Ray continued to wave around the remote playfully. She made two attempts to snatch it before finally snapping. "Hello?! This is my TV, and my house!"
"Sorry we have to stay here because my house… burned. Down… to the ground!" Ray angrily reminded Allie.
There was a brief moment of silence as the two looked down with guilty faces. After a while, they both looked up to each other and started talking over one another. "Sorry, it's really cool of you–/I'm sorry, I didn't mean–" Ray and Allie said, overlapping each other. They realized that they were talking at the same time before "No, you–" they both said. Ray and Allie felt so awkward by the situation that they both laughed happily.
All of a sudden, Ray's phone rang. Ray put down the remote, which Allie teasingly picked up, and grabbed his phone. "Your phone, I win." Allie said smugly.
"We act like Connor and M'gann." Ray said out loud happily. He then looked over to Allie and chuckled. "This isn't over!" he stated. With that, he started to answer the phone on speaker. "What's up, Gabe?"
"You guys need to check out the Weird San Campion website, NOW!" Gabe said anxiously.
Ray and Allie both looked to each other nervously. Allie then flicked the remote to the Weird San Campion Website, and the two gasped in horror. There was a picture of Carny posing in front of Grash. "Look on the bright side." Allie said nervously as they looked to the picture. "Maybe it hasn't gone viral."
Alexander Carnahan was riding home from his work when he suddenly saw the picture on his phone. Angered, he started to call Carny.
At the Carnahan Mansion, Carny was nervously hiding in a tree. He was still freaked out at what he accidentally caused at the Aquarium, and was trying to shed away the guilt. Just then, his phone started to ring. Carny silently turned it on, and much to his horror, his father's voice came. "Pick up the phone, NOW! Face your father like a man!" Alexander ordered. Carny flinched in fear, but the true horror came when he heard, "Do you have any idea what the Choten's going to do when he finds out about this?!"
Creature Realm…
Fingers and Heller both appeared before the Choten and showed him the latest news about Carny and Grash. August looked down to the picture and glared. "Hmm." He muttered as he rotated his chair. "Neutralize the Problem Child immediately." He ordered. "I must meet with the Light on this matter."
Mount Justice November 19th 2145 Hours EDT
Ray, Gabe and Allie were soon called to Mount Justice by the Team and the Justice League themselves. Batman showed a stern look on his face as he walked into the room with Dr. Fate. "My kind is now in danger!" Nabu exclaimed, gesturing to the picture.
"It wasn't Carny's fault!" Ray exclaimed.
"Yeah! Someone probably posted it because they thought that the public ought to know about these things!" Allie supported Ray.
Batman sighed as he looked to Robin, Artemis, Zatanna, Superboy and Aqualad. "Tomorrow morning, you five will go to San Campion and try to find Carny. He, and possibly the one who posted this picture, are in grave danger." The Dark Knight ordered. "If we are to sustain our alliance with the Duel Masters, then this must not go out to the Public Eye."
San Campion November 20th 1532 Hours PDT
"So, seriously?!" Allie asked with disbelief as she walked with Ray, Gabe, Zatanna, Artemis, Robin, Kaldur and Connor. "We're going to talk to Carny?!"
"If we don't, he's gonna end up causing trouble for all of us!" Ray exclaimed. The Team, Allie and Gabe all followed Raiden outside, still a bit fuzzy about what they were going to do.
Gabe scoffed as they walked out. "Easier said than done." He remarked. "Carny hasn't even shown up all day!" Everyone then turned over to where his gang was. "His lackeys look lost without him." Gabe stated.
"Speaking of lackeys…" Ray started out, pointing his finger to the side. Everyone gasped as Fingers and Heller stood by a car.
"Fingers and Heller?! What are they doing on the other side of the Veil?!" Gabe asked with disbelief.
Connor looked to Carny's gang and narrowed his eyes. "Probably looking for Carny." He stated.
"We have to warn him!" Ray exclaimed.
Allie rolled her eyes and looked to Artemis. "Why on Earth would we do that?" she asked. Artemis scoffed and nodded. "Yeah, from what I heard about Carny, he's a jerk."
Nickles walked alone after his other friend went off home. As he turned the corner into an alley, Ray, Allie and Gabe stood in front of him. Nickles gasped as he looked up to them before scoffing at them. "What do you want?" he asked with disgust.
"You really wanna go there, Nickles?" Allie asked, pointing her thumb behind her. "After all, there's eight of us, and your bodyguards aren't here for you to hide behind." She remarked.
Nickles raised an eyebrow upon hearing the 'eight' part, and was just about to ask what Allie meant until Zatanna, Artemis, Robin, Kaldur and Connor came out of their hiding places. He was about to say a rude remark then, but stopped, sighing in defeat.
"We're not looking for a fight." Ray reasoned. "We just want to know where Carny is."
"Carny?" Nickles asked nervously. "I-I-I don't know where he is." Nickles replied, trying to keep his composure. Everyone glared at Nickles, who started to back away. "Why would I tell you, even if I did know? Get away from me!" Nickles demanded, trying to get away to the streets.
Ray stopped Nickles as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "Look," Ray started out. "I know Carny can be a…"
"Jerk, pinhead, Neanderthal?" Gabe suggested.
Nickles said nothing as he continued to walk away. Ray sighed and stepped up to him. "Impulsive!" Ray exclaimed, finally getting the right words out of his mouth. "But a lot of people will get hurt, or worse, if you don't tell us where Carny is."
Nickles stopped upon hearing this, thinking about the casualties of what might happen due to what they were saying. Finally, he sighed and turned around to them. "Fine, I'll tell you." He said. The Duelists and the Team all smiled before Nickles held out his hand. "But you can't tell him I told you!" he added on as a condition.
Lucy watched from behind the wall across from the large group and started to listen on what Nickles was telling them. "He's hiding in the woods!" Nickles spat out.
Allie raised an eyebrow at this before a dumbfounded look emerged on her face. "I can't exactly imagine Carny roughing it." She stated.
In the Creature Realm, August looked to the holographic screens of the members of the Light. "We have heard about the exposure, August." Ra's al Ghul said with a grim look on his face. "The Light takes great concern for how your operations work out." Queen Bee added on.
The Choten sighed and nodded. "Rest assured, Fingers and Heller are already back on your side of the Veil, tracking down a signal that will lead them to the boy, and once he's here, I will do to him what I once did to a now-mutated colleague of mine." The Choten replied back.
"This boy is reckless, too reckless." Klarion stated with concern. Vandal Savage then looked to the Choten and craned his neck. "If causing destruction with Creatures is his wish, then speaking as a father, you should discipline him… severely." The Eternal Man instructed. The Choten nodded at this before the door behind him opened.
"Alexander, there's been a change in plans about your son." The Choten started to explain.
Back on Earth, the Team had all arrived in the woods, where they saw a small mansion. Clearly, this was Carnahan Property. "Wow." Ray stated. "So, this is how the Carnahans rough it." He mused. Gabe then ran up behind them, panting after running so far to get to the woods.
"Well, the hike was tough." Gabe mused.
Robin nodded as he pulled up his hologlove. "The Carnahan family must own a ton of land! This place is way into the woods!" the Boy Wonder exclaimed.
"5.8 miles to be exact." Gabe added on as he looked to his phone to see how far they had gone.
Before everyone could enter the gate, Allie and Zatanna started to hear someone panting. "Shh!" she yelled to everyone. Everyone stopped making noise as Allie started to listen. "Did you hear that?"
"I can't hear anything over Gabe's wheezing." Ray joked. However, the humor soon stopped when they heard a twig snap. Everyone gasped and turned around, looking to see who was there.
Allie looked carefully into the woods. After searching from left to right, she could see a girl in denim straps run from one tree to the next. She gasped and immediately turned around. "It's Lucy!" she exclaimed.
"She must have been the one who took the picture of Carny and Grash and posted it on the Weird San Campion site!" Gabe whispered back.
"We gotta get rid of her before she posts more pictures." Ray whispered as Lucy got up behind a tree to see what the eight were up to. Are they with the Justice League or something? Lucy thought to herself curiously upon seeing the Team.
"Okay, you, Artemis, Zatanna and Connor deal with Carny! Gabe, Aqualad, Robin and I will handle Lucy!" Allie ordered. Everyone nodded before Allie looked up to the sky. "Oh! I see a Creature over there!" she yelled out loud, getting everyone surprised before she ran off away from the mansion. "Let's go get it, Gabe and Justice Leaguers."
"Huh? Get what?" Gabe asked. Allie, Kaldur and Robin all looked to Gabe before he realized what they were up to. "Oh, right, yes. That." He exclaimed out loud. "Let's go get that."
Lucy looked to the four run away, and by instinct, ran after them.
Ray and Zatanna grinned before he led the mage, Artemis and Connor to the mansion.
Inside, Carny was watching some television on his screen. "Finally safe." He said to himself with comfort. Just then, his doorbell rang. Carny gasped in surprise as he switched from his show to the monitor. There, he saw Ray with a girl in green with a Green Arrow fixation, another girl in a black blazer, and a muscular boy with a black shirt that fashioned the emblem of Superman. "The Justice League with the wimp?" he asked himself curiously. He growled before trying to run away through the back door, but then grinned as he went to the side.
"Open up, or I break the door down!" Connor yelled from the outside. The four continued for Carny to open the door until something pushed Ray against the mansion. Ray grunted before he turned around, seeing Carny.
Carny looked to Ray while trying to ignore the others. "What are you doing here, mutt?!" he demanded.
"Look, Carny." Ray started out, regaining himself as Zatanna helped him up. "I know that we aren't on the same side of… pretty much anything,"
"You've got that right, freak!"
Connor growled at Carny upon hearing this remark, getting him to falter. Ray shook his head at Connor, getting the Boy of Steel to back off as he continued, "But if you keep doing stupid stuff, like summoning Creatures or pulling pranks…"
"I didn't break that glass!" Carny cried out.
"Then it's gonna get you hurt." Ray concluded before everyone took out their phones, showing Carny the picture of him that was posted. "And getting caught doing it, will get you hurt by bad guys like the Choten!"
Carny looked to Ray and the Team in shock before scoffing. "Yeah! Like you even know the Choten!"
"I only helped get him dragged into the Creature Realm!"
"Really?! Well then, why did I see him a few nights ago in my dad's factory?" Carny questioned.
Ray and the Team all gasped upon hearing this. "The Choten was on this side of the Veil?!" Ray asked with disbelief.
Carny backed away, not knowing about this. "Get him." Artemis ordered, aiming an arrow at Carny while Connor and Zatanna started to advance towards him.
"Get out here, Grash!" Carny yelled, placing on his Gauntlet and summoning Simian Trooper Grash from the Fire Realm. Ray and the Team looked to Grash with surprise before Carny glared to the Team. "And you, even the Justice League, get off my property!" With that, he ordered Grash to fire a missile at them. Everyone ducked from the incoming projectile before Carny walked up. "On second thought, stick around! I'd like to show you my new moves!"
Carny then patted his hand on his knee, causing hidden missiles to come out of Grash's knees and fire at everyone. "Get down!" Artemis yelled, shooting an arrow at Grash while Zatanna helped Ray get behind a tree for cover. However, the second missile coming to them hit their tree, and it fell right onto the mansion, causing Carny to scream in horror.
"This is exactly the kind of stupidity I was talking about!" Ray exclaimed. He then placed on his Gauntlet activated it using his kata. He then threw his right hand out before spinning in the air with a kick, and then placing his palm out, yelling, "Tatsurion the Unchained!"
Tatsurion then emerged from the Fire Civilization Portal and looked towards Grash. "Now this is more like it!" Tatsurion exclaimed, lighting up with fire.
Ray ran towards Bob and shook his head. "No! No flames or explosions!" he yelled out. "The last thing we'd need to cover up is a forest fire!"
Grash then took the chance to shoot at Tatsurion, who was knocked back several feet away from where he was originally standing. He wiped off the stain that was left from the impact and grunted. "Guess I haven't had a good old-fashioned brawl in a while." He stated. Carny then started to order Grash to shoot more missiles at Tatsurion. Bob ran away from the missiles, and Ray had Bob punch Grash in the face just as he fired more missiles.
The projectiles hit the roof of the mansion, leaving Carny in shock. "You're going to pay for that!" he yelled. With that, he had Grash shoot missiles at Ray and the Team, but Ray and Zatanna both placed up shields, redirecting the missiles back at Grash, knocking him back.
Carny ran towards Grash, but then heard some chuckling from behind him. "Wow." A voice flatly remarked. Carny turned around to see Fingers and Heller standing behind him. "You mean you still use this walking fist-cannon?"
"Yeah, I mean they're stupid, and then they're stupid." Heller remarked.
Ray and the Team watched with suspicion as Carny started to stutter.
"I-I-if you guys don't get out of here, I'm going to go tell my dad!"
"Who do you think told us where to find you?" Fingers mocked. "You tripped the cabin security, genius!"
"So you like playing with Creatures, huh?" Heller asked. He then extended his Gauntlet hand and said, "Well then, maybe you'd like playing around with a Stonesaur!"
Stonesaur then came out of the portal before Fingers summoned his Creature. "Oh, oh, oh! And why not throw in a Bone Ghoul Impalicus?"
Writhing Bone Ghoul then came out of the Darkness Civilization Portal, and Fingers snapped his three fingers sinisterly. "You know, just for fun."
"I thought you guys were on my side!" Carny asked with disbelief as Grash prepared to attack.
Fingers made a buzzer sound before smirking. "We're on the Choten's side!"
Ray, Zatanna, Connor and Artemis then ran up in front of Carny. "If you guys want to get to Carny, you'll have to get through me!" he exclaimed.
"And me!" Zatanna added on.
Tatsurion, Connor, Carny and Artemis then all looked to Ray and Zatanna with surprise. "They do?" the four asked with surprise.
"We're cool with that!" Fingers remarked, not thinking that this would be a challenge. "After all, the Choten warned us about the Justice League interfering!"
"Yeah! We're not afraid of children!" Heller added on, the two ordering their Creatures to attack.
Impalicus struck first with its sharp-edged tail, sending Ray, Connor, Zatanna and Tatsurion to the side before Stonesaur charged at them. Tatsurion shot some spikes at him while Artemis and Carny both sent projectiles out. The attack didn't affect Impalicus at the least, and slammed its tail down. "Eat fireball, Skeletern!" Carny quipped, but was soon tossed to the ground by Artemis after Grash got banished. Artemis glared at Carny, who looked to her with a flirtatious smile. "So, any cute face under your green mask?" he asked.
"Get a life!" Artemis spat, getting back into the battle as Tatsurion swung his chains around to counter Impalicus's attacks.
"Why do we have to protect the little Meatbag again?" Bob asked before throwing Impalicus into the mansion.
Ray looked up to Tatsurion and then to Connor, who was giving the same confused look. "We're the good guys!" Ray exclaimed. He then looked to the side and yelled out, "Look out!"
Stonesaur charged in, and Connor grabbed its horns as Ray and Tatsurion ran back. "Sometimes, I hate being the Good Guy." He complained.
"Welcome to the club!" Connor yelled out, grabbing a stone slab and then clubbing Stonesaur with it.
Meanwhile, Allie continued to run with Gabe, Aqualad and Robin with Lucy running behind them. Lucy quickly got behind a tree to avoid getting spotted, but Allie could see through this. She grunted exasperatingly before looking up. "Ah, forget this!" she exclaimed. "We know you're following us, Lucy!"
"For your own safety, stay out of the way!" Aqualad yelled out.
Allie then activated her Gauntlet and performed the Darkness Summoning Kata. "Scaradorable of Gloom Hollow!" she yelled out, summoning Squeaky.
Gabe took out his own Gauntlet and activated it as well, performing the Light Summoning Kata. "Blinder Beetle!" he yelled, getting the Light Creature known as Blinder Beetle to emerge. Lucy came out of her hiding place and gasped at what she just saw.
As Allie got onto Squeaky, she turned to Lucy and glared at her while pointing her finger at her sternly. "And don't even think about using that Camera Phone!" she ordered. With that, she and Squeaky ran off with Aqualad and Robin in pursuit, and a tired Gabe following Blinder Beetle. "I should have summoned a Creature I could ride!" he exclaimed to himself. Lucy, still wanting to see more, followed after them.
Meanwhile, Ray and Tatsurion both dodged a falling tree by flying into the air. Zatanna aimed her wand at Fingers and started to concentrate. "S'eh ruo ymene!" the mage incanted. Fingers then started to point his Gauntlet at Heller, much to their surprise before Fingers let loose the whips on his Gauntlet.
Heller then turned to Zatanna and growled. "Witch!" he yelled out.
Stonesaur and Impalicus soon started to close in on everyone. "Really would like to use fire now, Ray!" Bob yelled.
Impalicus soon started to perform another jab with its tail. Ray lifted up his Gauntlet for defense, but a sonic scream was then sent at it, followed by a Water Whip, three birdarangs and a green blast hitting Stonesaur. Ray turned around and smiled. "Nice timing, guys."
Gabe walked up and pointed his finger towards the two henchmen. "When did they get here, and where's Carny?" Gabe asked. Ray, Zatanna, Connor, Artemis and Bob all pointed a finger behind them, causing everyone to turn to see Carny hiding under a pile of rocks.
"Wait a minute!" Allie yelled. "First we're warning Carny, and now we're saving him?!"
"Well, apparently, it's a 'Good Guy' thing." Bob explained.
Fingers and Heller then ordered their Creatures to attack again. The Duelists and the Team all scrambled before going on defense. Ray then looked down to Lucy, who was watching the whole thing.
"Are you controlling that monster?!" she asked.
"I am not a monster." Bob said annoyingly through gritted teeth.
Lucy gasped after what she just heard Bob say. "Your monster knows how to speak English?!" Lucy then asked with surprise. Tatsurion then looked to the side as Connor threw Stonesaur into the air, followed by Tatsurion whipping him with his chains.
"I AM NOT A MONSTER!" Tatsurion yelled in Lucy's face, now horrified and shocked.
Gabe then walked up to them. "Technically, they're called 'Creatures', and we control them using these Dueling Gauntlets." He explained.
Robin facepalmed himself, as well as Allie before they both attacked Impalicus with screams and birdarangs. Allie then walked up to the two and growled. "You, out of the way!" she ordered Lucy before turning to Gabe. "You, less talking and more fighting!" she added on.
Gabe nodded and smirked upon hearing this. Zatanna got up next to him and they both sent twin blasts at Impalicus. Impalicus was sent to the ground before Bob jumped up into the air and slammed his fists down, sending the Darkness Creature back where it came from.
Fingers and Heller both gasped nervously as the Duelists and the Team all surrounded them. "Surrender." Robin ordered, aiming a birdarang at them. Aqualad's Water-Bearers, Artemis's arrows and Zatanna's wand aimed too immediately after Robin aimed his weapon.
Carny then ran up and laughed, teasingly pointing a finger towards the two henchmen of the Choten. "Yeah, that's right!" he exclaimed. "That's what you get for coming after a Carnahan on his own turf!"
Everyone groaned annoyingly as Ray rolled his eyes. "Don't push your luck, Carny." He said.
"I think he's already done that." A voice then remarked.
Everyone turned to the side to see Nigel Brightmore coming out from the shadows. Fingers and Heller looked to Nigel confusingly. "What are you doing here?" Fingers asked nervously.
"Watching and waiting for your inevitable bumbling." Brightmore spat at them. He then craned his neck to the side, gesturing for the two to get out of his way. "I'll be taking the boy now."
"What are you gonna do to him?" Ray asked with concern.
"That's for the Choten to decide."
"He'll have to get through us!" Ray quipped, holding up his Gauntlet.
Tatsurion sighed and shook his head at this. "Seriously, again?" he asked himself as the rest of the Team stood ready to fight.
Nigel grinned upon hearing this. "I was hoping that would be the case." He spat. With that, he started to perform a Light Summoning Kata. "Ravu, Seeker of Lightning!" he called out.
At that moment, a vertical Light Civilization Portal opened up, spurting with purple lightning as the new, evolved Ravu emerged. He was now surging with lightning, much to everyone's shock. Ray and Allie were lost for words, but Gabe just stuttered. "Did he–?" Gabe stuttered at first. "Is he–?"
"Evolved." The fallen Duel Master finally finished up. He then aimed his Gauntlet Hand at everyone, causing Ravu to send a large blast of light towards them.
"Scatter!" Aqualad yelled. Everyone then ran away in different directions right as the blast made contact. Zatanna sent a blast of fire through her wand, but Ravu just dissipated it, sending the blast right through the fire and hitting the mage, sending her against the wall of the mansion.
Tatsurion and Ray then attempted to attack from above, but Ravu shot at them as well before Blinder Beetle attacked. Ravu attempted to charge Ravu through, but the Lightning Seeker just held his hands up and zapped at Blinder Beetle, banishing him immediately.
Nigel then looked to the side and redirected his Creature, ordering him to blast at the side as Allie riding on Squeaky, Wally and M'gann, who had arrived in time to help, Robin, Artemis and Kaldur all charged. Aqualad attempted to slam on Ravu with his Water-Bearers while Allie, Squeaky, Artemis, Robin and Connor all jumped into the air to attack. With a blinding Flash of Light, Allie was sent off of Squeaky while Aqualad fell to the ground in pain. Robin and Artemis were sent hard towards a tree while Connor fell to the ground, followed by Wally being thrown to a rock with M'gann. The Boy of Steel then started to run towards Ravu again, holding the new incoming blast this time, but was unable to hold it as he was pushed back. Before he could be finished off, Squeaky threw him aside, getting blasted by the killer shot and being banished.
Allie saw this in shock before Ray came riding on Tatsurion, helping his friend up. He then turned his attention to Lucy, now in complete shock. "Lucy! Get out of here before you get yourself killed!" he called out.
"I'm going! I'm going!" she said nervously, running away from the scene. She then looked to the picture that she took of Carny and Grash with her phone and closed her eyes. "No." She quietly said, pressing a button before disappearing from the forest and back into the city.
Tatsurion then jumped into the air, avoiding blasts of light coming his way as he leapt from tree to tree. He then unsheathed one of his chains and tried to whip Ravu, but he let the chain wrap itself around his staff before sending out an electrical surge. Bob yelled in pain before he was sent to the ground.
"Let's end this!" Nigel spat angrily. He then swung his Gauntlet Hand towards everyone. "Ravu, Whirlwind!"
Instead of attacking, however, Ravu turned to his master. Sound waves started to show above him before he finally gave everyone a big surprise. "Master, do not make me do this." He said in a mechanical voice.
Nigel stood in shock upon hearing Ravu talk for the first time. "You speak?"
"I can now communicate with you within your audible range." Ravu explained. He started to show some sorrow in his next sentence as he said, "I implore you, do not make me do this."
Nigel continued to look on in shock and awe. He then grew a stern face before saying sternly, "You will do as I command, Creature!"
Ravu then silently but sorrowfully turned back to the heroes and he started to spin around quickly, creating a large whirlwind. Lightning went up into the air, eventually hitting Tatsurion and sending him back to the Fire Realm.
Ray held out his Gauntlet Hand, creating a shield as everyone started to cringe in fear and hold on for dear life. "Shields won't hold up against that!" Ray exclaimed. He was soon right, as his Shield gave away, and everyone was sent flying.
Kid Flash just looked up to the evolved Light Creature and growled. "You want a whirlwind?! I'll show you a whirlwind!" he quipped. With that, he started to spin around as well, creating a yellow and red tornado. Ravu only spun faster, causing Wally to push on. The two forces collided, and eventually, Kid Flash was forced out of his turbo speed and was sent into Artemis, everyone else holding onto trees as they prevented themselves from being blown away.
"No!" Nigel cried out, being attacked by the blowing wind as well. "Too powerful!" he then exclaimed. He removed his hand defending himself and growled at Ravu. "Control yourself, Creature!" he demanded. He was then blown away by the wind, and once he made impact on a tree, everything stopped.
Ravu lowered his hands and looked around. All over the forest and the mansion was now a wasteland. Everyone gasped as they got up. They tried to fight again, but they felt too injured. Nigel stepped up and glared. "Enough games!" he exclaimed in anger. "Ravu, fetch the boy!"
Ravu started to slowly hover towards everyone. Before he could get the chance to grab Carny, two large hands clapped around Ravu. The large hands then started to pull away before Ravu was banished back to the Creature Realm. Everyone then looked up to see a large, deer-like Nature Civilization Creature standing there.
"Get in the car." Alexander's voice suddenly said. Everyone looked to the side to see Alexander Carnahan standing by a blue sports car, a Tech Gauntlet on his Right Hand. He then walked up calmly and held up his Tech Gauntlet. "Is that going to be a problem with anyone?"
"It might be… with the Choten." Nigel replied in a calm tone.
Alexander walked up to Nigel and shook his head. "I've worked things out with him." He explained before saying, "My boy will have to go away for a while."
Carny looked to his father nervously upon hearing this. "Military School?" he asked.
Alexander kept a stoic look on his face as he turned to his son. "Something like that." He stated.
Creature Realm, 1952 Hours…
Carny yelled and screamed in terror as he ran away from Impalicus, Stonesaur, and even Mammoth with an enlarged Teekl on the obstacle course in the Choten's ship.
Fingers, Heller, and Klarion all laughed at this. "You're on our turf now, Carnahan!" Fingers quipped as he swung around his Gauntlet.
Heller chuckled and swung his Gauntlet as well. "That's right, keep up the pace."
From a distance away, the Choten and Nigel Brightmore both watched. "Vandal Savage gave me the idea for this after I explained to the Light about the situation." August explained.
"I can see." Nigel replied back grimly.
August continued to look out onto the obstacle course before moving onto a new topic. "So, enjoying your new evolved Creature?"
"I have to admit, it is… not what I expected." Nigel stated in sorrow, causing the Choten to grin.
"Yes, a friend of mine on another side of the Veil gave me the right additive to experiment with for the new serum." The Choten said smugly. "Yet, the effects of the Serum are exceeding all my expectations." He added on.
Nigel then started to think about his decision to evolve Ravu upon hearing this. Did I make a good choice? He asked himself. He let out a sigh before walking away sadly.
San Campion 2002 Hours PDT
The Duelists and the Team all returned to the Temple after the fiasco was done with. Ray sighed after everything they went through. "Too bad that the Masters will have to Cyber-Virus Lucy again." He contemplated.
"Yeah," Allie said. "But they also can't risk people seeing what she post online."
Gabe looked to his phone while Robin looked to his hologlove. "Actually, I don't think that's gonna be a problem!" he exclaimed.
The Boy Wonder chuckled and nodded. "According to the Weird San Campion Website, Lucy took it down, and said that it was all a hoax!" Robin exclaimed. "Probably feeling the aster right now."
Everyone turned to the two and widened their eyes in surprise. "She's willing to protect our secret?!" Allie asked with disbelief and surprise.
"Now, everyone…" the Duelists and the Team heard Jaha say from the meeting room.
Ray looked up to the four Duel Masters and smiled. "Maybe we don't have to tell the Masters about Lucy quite yet." He said happily.
Later on at night, Lucy was in her room. She started to think about what had happened earlier on. "Maybe I just went too far." She said to herself as she looked to her reflection. She then noticed some marks on her forehead. Curious, she started to feel them. "Almost like suction cups from a while back." She deducted.
Lucy then looked at the footage from her phone at the video she sent to herself with Gabe's phone that showed her fighting off against a Creature. Lucy smiled and then pressed a button, officially erasing all evidence of the events, but keeping that one video to keep to herself. "Whatever it is you guys are up to, your secret's safe with me." She promised to both herself and her friends quietly before getting in bed.
Author's Note: Hope that everyone enjoyed this new chapter. Sorry I didn't update for a while, you wouldn't believe all the work that keeps me occupied. I'll be trying to work on my stories more often, and try to get them up in time for all of you to read. Please feel free to review, rate, and if you can, try to Private Message me for anything on any of my stories. For now, this is SuperHeroTimeFan signing off. Have a great week, everyone!
