Sylvia Wayne "Wildcat"
The Bialyan Desert
September 4th, 2010
I awoke to someone poking me as the surface I was laying on shook. My body felt like it was burning, my muscles screaming for water. Everything felt muddled, like there was fog in my mind, blocking my memories. The last time I felt like that, I woke up in a freezer at an underground lab. I immediately went on edge, ejecting my claws. My eyes flipped open as I pounced upon the person, a snarl escaping my lips. I was looking down at someone in a military uniform, and I was surrounded.
Those were Bialyan Republican Army uniforms, and I was in their desert. I heard multiple guns lock and load as I pressed my claws into the man's neck. He looked at me in fear, but I immediately pulled a flash grenade out of my utility belt and threw it on the ground. Everyone in the vicinity was incapacitated at the moment as I chucked a smoke bomb for good measure, slipping away from the Military sight as I reached for my radio to contact Batman. But something stopped me.
Maintain radio silence at all times. I heard the familiar commanding voice in the back of my mind. I just kept moving, pulling my holocomputer out to track Robin's, knowing that if I was here, he probably was too. He was just a few hundred feet away. I sprinted as fact as I could, making my way to my little brother. As I ran, I realized that my costume was different. The slash marks were gold instead of red and my hair wasn't down, it was up in a high ponytail braid as it flowed out of a cowl with bat ears that replaced my domino mask. As weird as it seemed, I rolled with it, sort of enjoying the new look as I ran.
Out of nowhere, some drones began firing at me, but I managed to be on the other side of the sand dune when something happened, the two drones colliding in a fiery explosion. I kept running, tracking my brother. It was proving difficult as he wouldn't stop moving. But I kept moving, even as the sun set. I felt better now that I had the night to keep me hidden from those stupid soldiers. Bialya was supposed to be a hostile state, a dictatorship run by Queen Bee.
The closer I got to Robin, the closer I got to something else. I had left a GPS marker on a specific location, and Rob was closing in on it. I pushed myself to run faster, trying to get to my brother. It was easier for a moment once he finally stopped, I found him crouched behind a small dune, looking over at a large hunk of tech. I slipped over and crouched next to him.
"Guessing that's why." He said quietly, looking over at the device. He looked to me and nodded. We shared a moment and figured on a plan based on a series of looks. The two of us moved over to the thing to get a better look, but Bialyan soldiers rose out of the sand, their leader saying something in Arabic that I understood as
"Her Majesty wants them alive!" He said as they moved in. But Robin and I shared another look, both of us dropping smoke bombs. We attacked the soldiers simultaneously as they hacked and coughed in the smoke. I just caught a small glimpse of Robin attacking a soldier, a smug look on his face. The two of us threw batarangs at the soldiers, disarming them the best we could. Rob leapt onto one of the soldier's shoulders and twisted, using his momentum to kick two others. I simply grabbed one and swung him in a circle by his arm, knocking out four more in addition to my human mace.
"Enough! Open fire!" My mind automatically translated the arabic as the three remaining soldiers shot at us. But out of nowhere, there was a black and red blur running between the soldiers, taking their guns.
"I'll hold that." I heard a familiar voice say. "Thanks!" He finally stopped, smiling as he resumed the fight, using himself as a human cannonball, attacking soldiers with Robin and I. Two were about to fire at Robin before he had a chance to turn around.
"Robin!" I yelled, but a mysterious force knocked the men back just as a soldier punched me in the lower back. I just spun around, kicking high into the air as my boot connected with the man's skull. I turned back around in time to see a green girl that resembled Martian Manhunter in uniform appeared out of camouflage mode. I grabbed one soldier and flipped him into another just as the speedster had a similar idea, spinning and throwing one into three more. Another ran at me, but a green arrow flew past, exploding into a set of bolas, tying up the rogue soldier. Everyone looked up to the top of the dune to see a blonde girl with a bow, her uniform referencing the Green Arrow, which confused me because I thought he only had a protege named Speedy. -
"KF!" Robin exclaimed as I sprinted for the speedster, involuntarily tackling him in a hug. "Man, it's good to see a familiar face." Robin said quickly.
"Hey, Rob and glad to see you too." Kid looked down at me with a huge smile as I let go, happy that it wasn't just Robin and I alone in the desert without Batman. "Memory loss?" He asked for confirmation and I nodded.
"Six months." Robin replied angrily. "Let's hogtie these creeps and compare notes." Rob said as the blonde and I met eye contact. She seemed annoyed with me for hugging KF, but I'd never heard of her, so I was sure she hasn't known Wally for very long. The martian girl held the men together with her telekinesis as I handed Kid some rope, him running around them in circles, securing them with ease. I took the two ends of the robe and tied them in one of the most secure knots I knew before joining the others. We all quickly ran through names for each other as the green girl brought up what she could remember.
"So we're a team?" I asked in disbelief. Wally standing with his arm resting on my shoulders as we usually did. The two of us and Robin were best friends, but Artemis wasn't taking it very lightly.
"The five of us and Superboy." M'gann reminded us of the Kryptonian from her memories.
"Then this must be his." Robin figures as he pulled out a shred of black fabric with a red Superman logo.
"Yes! Did you see him?" M'gann asked as she now examined the fabric.
"I think we did." Artemis said in a confused tone as Wally rubbed his chin.
"Feral boy? Some teammate, he attacked us." He stated, annoyed with the idea of someone like that on a team with him.
"He didn't know who we are." I said, trying to see why Superboy would just attack them.
"I don't know who we are." Artemis added, her expression like a deer in headlights.
"I remember Batman ordering radio silence." I said suddenly.
"So do I, our team must work for him." Robin put it together as he always does, the little junior detective always knew how to work a case faster than me, always pleasing Batman.
"How do you know we don't work for my mentor?" Wally said as he jammed his thumb to his chest as a gesture, but he must have activated something, because his suit finally switched to the familiar yellow and red. "Whoa. This is so cool!" He commented as he kept poking it, everyone one else besides Miss Martian tapping their icons to see if they changed colors.
"We look ridiculous." Artemis finally said as Wally kept poking his logo.
"Quit touching yourself!" I snapped at him, finally forcing him to return to the black suit.
"We need our memories back!" Artemis shouted, looking at the bigger picture. I was beginning to like her. I watched as M'gann put her hands to her head, her eyes glowing white. Suddenly, we were surrounded by shattered fragments of memories. All of us looked extremely confused. But M'gann appeared in a flash of white light, her hood up and her demeanor giving away how nervous she was.
"I brought you into my mind To share what I've remembered so far. But I need your help. Together, Our broken memories can form a whole… if you open your minds to mine." She explained, slowly losing her demeanor.
"You want to paw through our private thoughts?" Artemis snapped, crossing her arms. She was oddly a bit more defensive that the others about M'gann entering inside her own head.
"I have no wish to intrude, but…" M'gann didn't really know what words to use. Luckily our Boy Wonder knew exactly how to say it.
"We need to hack our minds to grok what happened to us. Got it. Go." Robin welcomed her, getting how important it was to understand.
"My brain's all yours. Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you." Wally said, with a smirk, but I just elbowed him.
"Or underwhelm you." I snorted, Artemis laughing.
"Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?" Robin asked, us, his hands on his hips. Oddly enough, I found the statement annoying. Artemis on the other hand looked nervous. But she got over herself quickly.
"Last 6 months only, and only what you need." Artemis ordered M'gann as Wally put his arm around me, like he was trying to protect me. M'gann closed her eyes as four glowing blue hands emerged from her, taking hold of each of our heads. My eyes falling shut. I suddenly saw my father in his Batman costume, standing before a holocomputer like the one in the Batcave. Things began flooding my mind, Cadmus, Mister Twister, Santa Prisca, everything. But what I watched was the memory of the mission briefing.
"The watchtower detected an immense power surge in the bialyan desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements non-terrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site, what landed there." Batman said before the map disappeared and a photo of a beautiful but dangerous woman took its place. "Bialya is a rogue state ruled by Queen Bee, And not a member of the League's U.N. Charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times." He ordered as the scene shifted to the Bialyan Desert. You'll land in Kourak on Bialyas' border, two clicks from the hot zone." He faded out as I heard Robin.
"All clear." He reported as we all exited the bioship, superboy carrying our massive computer that will aid in tracking and deciphering the power surge.
"The Bialyans control the site." Artemis whispered as she, Robin and I did quick recon of their base.
"Set up here." Aqualad said as Superboy dropped the device into the sand.
"We'll be up and running in no time." Robin said as he activated the machine.
"Jackpot! The site's lousy with zeta beam radiation." Kid Flash smirked as he read the readings on the device.
"Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent." I said as I read the screen over Robin's shoulder.
"I'll check it out in camouflage mode." M'gann said as she disappeared.
"Good idea. Go." Aqualad accepted the plan.
"Careful." Superboy said to her as Aqualad approached.
"And maintain telepathic contact." Our fearless leader reminded her.
"I will, Aqualad." M'gann promised, the name ringing in our ears. M'gann took a sharp breath.
"Aqualad!" We all said, realizing we had all forgotten about him all this time.
"Where is he? What happened next?" Robin asked with urgency.
"I don't know! That's the last thing I… we remember." M'gann said as my body went rigid. Wally's arm was still around me. I looked up at him, thinking he was going to let go, but the hold just loosened.
"We landed 24 hours ago. If Kaldur'ahm's been wandering the desert that long, well, that's not good for a guy with gills." He reminded us all of Kaldur's heat sensitive atlantean physiology.
"Now that I know to look for him…" Robin said as he checked his holocomputer for Kaldur's GPS marker. "He's close! But he's not moving." Robin said as we all bolted, running for Aqualad. when we found him, he was just mumbling things in Atlantean.
"I can't restore his memories in this condition." M'gann said as she lifted Aqualad's head from the ground.
"He needs immediate rehydration. Call the bioship." I told her, knowing that Kaldur could die if he went on like this for much longer.
"It's out of range, but you can get him there fast." M'gann said, looking to Wally, but he shook his head, his hand just barely brushing mine.
"He's too heavy, and I'm too low on fuel. Right now, I couldn't even carry her." Wally gestured to me, but I just elbowed him in the ribs.
"Why not just levitate him back?" Artemis asked the obvious question that we were all wondering. Our leader was dying.
"I can't. I have to find Superboy." M'gann told us as she stood up. Six months ago, he didn't exist. He has no memories, just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him." Her judgement was being clouded by her feelings for the Kryptonian.
"Superboy's indestructible. Just ask those tanks. It's Aqualad who needs your help. Like, now." Wally tried to convince her, but she flew off in a rush.
"No! Superboy's in pain!" She yelled as she flew away.
"M'gann! Wait!" Artemis tried to stop her.
"We still don't know what erased our memories! It could happen again!" Robin said loudly, trying to get her to stop, but she pushed on, leaving us with an unconscious Aqualad.
"How are we going to get him to the Bioship now?" Artemis asked but I just cracked my knuckles, shoulders and back.
"Well, let's see how much he weighs." I said, doing my best to lift Kaldur up and put him over my shoulder, hanging onto his legs.
"You're small, how are you carrying him?" Wally asked, even Artemis was confused, but Robin and I both shared a smirk.
"You people forget I was a lab rat some time ago. Strength was apart of my enhancement. It's not much but it sure helps in a fight." I tell them all with a smile, taking a deep breath and walking forward, adjusting my strides in the sand to account for Aqualad's added weight. After a while, the sound of a truck forced us to hide.
"Quick, over there." Robin whispered as we all ran behind a rock. I set Aqualad down for a moment to take a break. He suddenly began speaking in Atlantean again as the soldiers on foot passed us.
"Shh. Kaldur'ahm, quiet now." Artemis whispered, trying to keep us from getting caught because of him.
"We can't risk a firefight with Aqualad K. like this." Robin said before slipping away from us.
"It's not just him. I'm way out of juice." Kid was growing more and more tired.
"And I'm almost out of arrows." Artemis said, checking her quiver. They finally realized Rob was gone. KF groaned quietly.
"I forgot how much I hate it when he does the ninja thing." Kid whispered, looking around for Rob. "Hey, you never said why your dad would want you to ktttk! me." Kid said as he drew a finger across his neck, looking to Artemis as she went rigid. I was starting to think I needed to do some detective work on this chick.
"I… uh… got confused by some old movie I saw the other night. About a ninja girl whose ninja dad ordered her to kill her ninja boyfriend 'cause he was from a rival ninja clan." Artemis tried to clear things up.
"So, I'm your ninja boyfriend, huh?" Kid asked, mocking her. I elbowed him in the side.
"Not you, someone else. Like I said, I was confused." She looked at the ground, the anger and worry showing in her face as she looked at Aqualad's unconscious expression. Robin returned, making Kid jump.
"Dude, where were you?" He asked, but Rob just smirked. I was beginning to realize what he did, becoming more and more amused with my little brother.
"Breaking radio silence." He smiled, looking back over the rock to watch his handiwork. I looked as well, finding that he pre-recorded his laugh to draw the soldiers over to three of his smoke bombs. The second they went off, I picked up Aqualad again.
"That's our cue. Move!" Robin ordered. I did my best to run, keeping up with the others with the Atlantean on my shoulder. After I while, I was getting tired. But I kept pushing on until we made it over the border into Qurac, where the Bioship was landed. I set Aqualad down on a bed that appeared the second we stepped aboard. The second I let go of him, the need to keep pushing on disappeared. I stumbled back, nearly falling over, but Wally caught me, setting me down on the floor as I crumbled into exhaustion. After a while of my eyes drifting open and closed,
I've got Superboy. He's back to normal, and we're on our way. I heard M'gann in my mind, shocking me awake. Aqualad shot up, coughing.
"Who are you, and how did you get inside my head?" He asked into the air, looking for the source of the incursion.
"Hello, Megan. Aqualad's memories! I knew I forgot something." M'gann said into the newly created link as she and Superboy closed in.
"Aw, man. Me, too. I didn't get a souvenir from the mission." Wally seemed slightly upset, as I looked over to see Artemis trying her best to keep Aqualad on the table as the IV fluids dripped into his arm.
Don't worry. Got the souvenir thing covered. I heard M'gann say in my mind. Wally walked back over to me, deciding to get me off the floor and into a chair, the Bioship automatically strapping me in. I was drifting asleep again as I saw M'gann and Superboy board the ship with a massive sphere that kept moving around and making these beeping sounds like it was communicating. I though the exhaustion was finally getting to me and I was hallucinating. Especially when I weakly glanced down to me hand, seeing Wally squeeze it gently just before letting go to sit in the chair next to me, watching as my eyes finally drifted closed, falling asleep from the all consuming fatigue.
Author's note: I hope everyone's enjoying the story! Please review! It would be extremely helpful:)
-thegirlwhoisstillwaiting