Willoffire123: Hey folks! We're doing a double feature today to make up for my two-month absence.
Harry: Willoffire123 doesn't own Batman Beyond or Harry Potter.
Terry: zzz
Willoffire123: TERRY WAKE UP!
Terry: WHO! WHAT! WHEN! WHERE! WHY! HOW!
Willoffire123: You're not allowed to sleep on the job! You should know that by now. Plus, I need you in the next scene.
Terry: (yawn) I'm not payed enough for this job.
Harry: You and me both.
Willoffire123: On with the chapter!
Harry
We walked into breakfast the morning after the attack on Hogsmeade and found places at the Gryffindor table.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione!" said Dean Thomas. "Have you seen the Prophet yet?"
"No, we just got here," said Ron, stifling a yawn. "Why?"
Seamus Finnegan slapped a copy down on the table in front of us. "We're all over the front page," he said excitedly.
The three of us leaned over and stared at the bold title over a ground shot of Hogsmeade going up in flames. Aquagirl stood at the head of the shot, directing a wall of water onto a burning building.
"Death Eater Attack on Hogsmeade Thwarted! The Justice League Saves the Town and the Students!" I read aloud. A side caption was illustrated with a picture of the nine of us hiding in the town hall.
"Everyone's been talking about it since last night!" exclaimed Lavender.
I groaned. As if I needed a reminder of last night's chaos.
"Ron, Hermione, I left my potions book in my dormitory. Fancy coming with me before Potions starts?"
They nodded and we got up to leave. On the way out, I noticed Marina and Kai conversing in hushed tones in an alcove. Terry wasn't with them. I shrugged it off and ducked into an empty classroom, Ron and Hermione right behind me.
"What's up?" asked Hermione.
"The newspaper," I answered. "Batman saved my life last night. I don't even know if he's dead or alive."
I explained what had happened. From when the Death Eater had carried me off into the sky, to when I saw Batman electrocute the Death Eater, getting caught in the blast himself.
"As if that weren't enough on my conscience," I gestured at the rolled up copy of the Prophet under Hermione's arm. "Now the Prophet's caught everything that happened last night and replayed the nightmare. What if he's dead? We didn't do anything to help him. We just left him there in the street for the Death Eaters to pick up."
"Oh Harry, I'm sorry," said Hermione. "But you're making a mountain out of a molehill, don't you think?"
"Yeah mate," said Ron. "They're the Justice League, saving people is their job. So what if the Bat got a little banged up in the process? He'll be fine, you're fine, and it all works out in the end. See?"
"I suppose," I said glumly.
"I think we should go see what's wrong with Marina and Kai," said Ron. "They both looked ruddy depressed about something."
"Yeah," I said. "Let's go."
When we found Marina, she was already waiting outside the Potions classroom.
"Hi Marina," said Hermione kindly.
Marina looked up. "Oh, hi guys!"
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Yeah," said Ron. "You and Kai looked like someone had just died today at breakfast."
Marina chuckled lightly. "Oh, it's nothing. We were just discussing what happened last night. It reminded Kai of a similar attack on Gotham last year, so we were worried that there might be a pattern."
"Marina?" I asked. "Where's Terry?"
"In the hospital wing," said Marina. "He got hit by a falling piece of debris yesterday, so Madame Pomfrey's patching him up. Other than a broken leg, a cracked rib, a fractured elbow and a few cuts, he's fine," she said, managing a small smile.
Hermione gave her a hug. "Oh Marina, I'm sorry. I know that must be hard for you."
Marina looked slightly startled at the sudden display of affection, but she hugged her back.
"Thank you Hermione."
"Well if you ask me," said Malfoy very loudly. "Wayne deserved what he got. Filthy mudblood needed to know his place."
Marina turned around. "First of all Malfoy, nobody here either asked for your opinion, or wanted your opinion. Also," she added smirking at the look on Malfoy's face. "Just because you're scared of Terry doesn't mean you're allowed to go and insult him while he isn't here."
And with that, we headed inside the potions classroom before Malfoy had a chance to either insult or jinx Marina.
MEANWHILE SOMEWHERE IN…ENGLAND
Harry: Lame
HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE?
Harry: Because you're the one pulling the strings
SHUT UP HARRY AND LEAVE. YOU'RE NOT EVEN IN THIS SCENE.
Harry: Fine
SO YEAH, SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND…
Terry
Let me tell you one thing right now. If you wake up and:
A: Your chest is screaming in pain.
B: You have no idea where you are.
C: You're chained to a wall.
D: There are people standing over you deciding your fate.
E: One of those people is bald, has no nose, and smells like death.
You know that you should have stayed in bed today.
I stayed completely still, my eyes shut. They hadn't noticed that I had woken up yet.
"My lord," said one of them. "Now that we have the Bat, what do we do with him?"
"When he wakes, we shall see what he has to say," hissed a bone-chilling, snake-like voice. "But he will join our noble cause, whether he wants to or not."
"Shall we unmask him, my lord?" asked another voice.
"Not quite yet, Galahof," said the snake man. "If we are to gain his trust, we must wait to open up all of his secrets."
Well this doesn't look good.
"Why don't we wake him up now my lord?" asked another voice. This one was female.
"No Bellatrix" ordered the snake man. "He'll wake up on his own."
At this point in time, I had finished piecing together the puzzle. Death Eaters had captured me, the snake man was Voldemort, I'd at least broken something, and they wanted the Justice League to join their side. I should probably 'wake up' now.
With a theatrical groan, I opened my eyes. When I did, I saw three Death Eaters, and Voldemort standing around me in a semi-circle.
We stared at each other in silence. Then…
I smirked. "So, the all-powerful Lord Voldemort doesn't have a nose? What, you couldn't get Wormtail to screw one on before he brought you back from the in-between world?"
The female shrieked in outrage and kneed me in the chest. My eyes rolled back in my head and I had a coughing spasm of blood onto the slimy, dungeon floor.
"Was it something I said?" I coughed.
The crazy one lunged at me, but Voldemort, of all people, stopped her.
"Now, now Bellatrix," said Voldemort. "Let's be gentle with our new guest."
"Yes my lord," said Bellatrix, backing away, but not before shooting me a look of utter loathing. I managed to compose myself and stop coughing up blood onto the floor long enough to return the look.
"You may wonder why you're here, Batman," said Voldemort.
I didn't reply.
"We've received word that your Justice League has joined forces with Dumbledore. We wanted to persuade you to join us, and fight for a greater good. Will you join us?"
I spat a mouthful of blood at his feet. "Go rot in hell."
Instead of snapping my neck, Voldemort simply touched the tip of his wand to my forehead. "Crucio," he said coldly.
I screamed. Pain like I'd never felt before coursed through me, twisting and turning into every inch of my body until I felt like I was going to explode. The pain snaked through every injury, fresh and old, that I'd received in the past two months, and lit them on fire. I screamed and screamed until a sickly mixture of blood and bile rose in my throat, and spilled into the already substantial sized puddle of blood in front of me. When the pain had reached the point of unbearable, the white light faded.
"Make no mistake Batman," Voldemort said coldly while I collapsed, forcing air back into my lungs with each shuddering breath. "I will break you, and you will serve me."
He reached out a gnarled, pale gray hand and grasped my mask. "Let's see who's under the cowl," he hissed.
I tried to head butt him, but he locked me in place with his other arm, pinning my head against the wall. Before I knew what had happened, my mask was off, and I felt more exposed than I had in a long time.
Voldemort studied my face, as if he was trying to memorize every inch of it.
"Hmm, so this is the face of the mysterious caped crusader. If I'm not mistaken, you've infiltrated the school."
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and turned me so that I was facing the three Death Eaters.
"Lucius, does the boy look familiar?" he asked.
Lucius Malfoy shook his head. "I am sorry, my lord. I don't believe that I've ever seen his face before today."
Voldemort let go of my hair, slamming my head against the wall behind me. Little stars danced in front of my vision.
Lucius Malfoy backed up, avoiding the wrath of Voldemort's wand.
"Leave him for now. I will find out who he is. Leave the mask in here in case we may need to keep his identity a secret from unwanted company. Bellatrix, watch him. Do what you will with him, but don't kill him. The rest of you, follow me."
With that, Voldemort, the werewolf, and Lucius Malfoy left the dungeon, leaving the female, who I assumed must be Bellatrix Lestrange behind.
"I'm going to enjoy this, Batsie," she cackled, taking out her wand.
I winced. *One thing's for sure. I'm in for a long night, * I thought grimly.
"Crucio!"
Terry
I fell back as the pain overtook me once more. My ears rang so badly I was deafened. I could just make out the sound of Bellatrix cackling with glee at my pain.
"Whats'a matter Batsie? Don't like my wand?"
She proceeded to trace circles on my chest with her wand, taking care to poke and pull at each and every open wound there.
"Oohh," she said excitedly, digging her wand into the deep slash mark on my chest. "This one is Greyback's work, I'm sure of it."
"Don't touch me," I growled. That only made her cackle harder.
"Oh Batsie," she said softly, digging the flat of her knife into my cheek. I felt blood pool in my mouth. "You don't have a choice."
But Bellatrix didn't proceed to stab me in the face, taking out my eye like I thought she would. No, instead she was up on her feet, shrieking and running in circles as something attacked her head.
I glanced up to see Bellatrix running out of the room, still shrieking at the top of her lungs. The creature that attacked her flew back into the shadows; only its beady black eyes were visible. The black bat opened its wings and shrieked at me, almost as if to say "I got your back."
I managed a half-hearted smile. "Thanks. I'm gonna escape once I know their plan. Think you can keep it a secret?"
The bat bared his fangs in consent.
I smirked. "Excellent."
Willoffire123: Well that was fun, wasn't it?
Terry: No it wasn't.
Willoffire123: Oh you'll get over it. Which reminds me. I'm still looking for a beta-reader. The slot is open to anyone who wants to try.
Harry: Just as long as you're nothing like her.
Terry: Because we really can't handle two of them.
Willoffire123: When I was at camp, my entire cabin got sick and the nurse nearly put us in quarantine. But then we all got better again:)
Terry: …
Harry: You've just reached a whole new level of random.
Willoffire123: Until next time!
