The League's Hunt

Alexnandru Van Gordon

YAY! I got my new laptop. Now I don't have to fight over the computer with Victor or my sisters to update.

Anyhow—this chapter is dedicated to Creative Spark. So long as she updates "Cuts and Bruises", I'll update "The League's Hunt". You should read her story. She's got a nice plot and some good dialogue going on there. Now, shoo…go….read!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything of the sort.

CHAPTER TEN: Fatal mistakes

"Are they moving yet?"

Mad Mod shrugged, pressing a button on the keyboard. The screen divided into three sections, one showing each team. "The goof-balls are on a roll. As for the rest of the adults…"

The Green Lantern had a look on his face that said something along the lines of 'I just swallowed battery acid' and Batman was 'frowning'. At least, he was frowning as much as any person could tell by the cowl he wore. Superman had a pleading look on his face and Jo'nn…well, Jo'nn was Jo'nn. There wasn't much left to say about him.

"You know…don't you feel a little odd?"

Mod shrugged again. He slouched down further in his chair and yawned. "It's a bit odd seeing the Justice League here—not to mention a little boring. The Teen Titans are an amusing bunch all on their own."

Mumbo rolled his eyes. "I mean as in movement. For the last couple of minutes I felt as though I was upside-down with my feet nailed to the floor and then, just now…the feeling was gone."

Mod turned to look at him. "We're in your bloom'nhat. You tell me."

"Usually I would have said that someone moved the hat, but you said you would contact me with your cameras." He growled. "Haven't you been checking?"

"Too busy praying the Bat would just let go, but hey—" He sat up and pressed another button. "Let's see what the ol' cameras have to say. I think the one on the rim of your hat should still be functional. Maybe the police picked up your hat after we disappeared."

"…And threw us into a closet?" Mumbo frowned at the darkness.

"…Bloody hell—that's one big closet!"

It took a while for the microscopic camera's night-vision to kick in, but with the push of a few buttons, Mod cleared the screen. It was…a ruddy old warehouse. The last time Mod checked, there hadn't been an earthquake in Jump City since…well, there was that girl. Maybe it was her doing.

"Well that's all fine and dandy—someone threw out a perfectly good hat, mate."

Mumbo moaned. "I don't think so…"

"What do you mean?"

"Who would throw out evidence?"

"…No one, I don't think."

"And, either than the police, who do you think would be interested in an object containing the Teen Titans and the majority of the Justice League head guys?"

Mod groaned too. "Another criminal…"

-F, St, BB-

The walk was agonizingly long. BB wasn't exactly walking (actually he was a squirrel perched on Starfire's shoulder), but he was bored…and hungry…and tried. Too bad he couldn't click his heels together and shout 'There's not place like home! There's no place like home!' Then the giant robots from Mars would come down, guns blazing and—!

"Beast Boy, are you 'dreaming of the day'?"

Beast Boy shook his little squirrel head quickly. Sometimes it was scary how close she was to the truth…but her English still needed a little more work. The term was 'day dreaming'. 'Dreaming of the day' was…well…something different.

Starfire quirked an eyebrow. "But you are quiet. Are you injured?"

"Don't jinx us." Flash piped in before Beast Boy could shake his head again. "This silence is golden."

Too bad…knuckle-head!

Beast Boy morphed into his humanoid self and nearly threw Starfire off balance before jumping off her shoulder. "Why don't you do something useful and zip us out of here?"

Flash grinned. "Do I look like Jo'nn to you? I can't ghost through walls."

"I know that! But you can grab us and speed up the journey." Beast Boy threw his hands up into the air. "I thought you were the fastest man on earth!"

"I am, and you're the crankiest kid on earth. Running around is only going to exhaust us. Your crazy friends will zap us to the next stage of this weird competition when the others get past their challenge."

"Then why are we walking around?"

He laughed. "You'd much rather sit around and do nothing?"

No…not really—but still!

"You are…" Starfire paused to think of the word. "'paranoid', Beast Boy?"

Somewhere in his head a blood-vessel burst. "I am so not paranoid! And even if I was—we're stuck in an endless abyss of darkness with nothing but a giant mass of goopy sand above us! I have every right to be paranoid!"

Hyperventilating, he watched the two heroes stare at him like a piece of raw meat that suddenly got up and started dancing. Then they both looked terribly shocked and started backing away from him…like he wasn't dancing anymore, but doing something much more menacing…whatever that was…

"Dudes, I won't eat you. I'm a vegetarian."

Starfire gulped. "Beast Boy…I firmly believe he is not…"

Whatever 'he' was, Beast Boy didn't care to find out. But, out of a mix of curiosity and stupidity, he turned around anyway.

And the only thing he saw was row after row of long…white…razor-sharp…teeth.

-C-

"…Where am I?"

He turned on his emergency lights, the entirety of his robot body glowing faint blue. He was in…nothing, really. Just darkness and space without gravity. In the back of his mind he decided that this was probably where all the lost items in the world must go after people give up looking for them.

"Hello…?"

And the worst part of all—there wasn't even an echo…

-B, Sp-

"Have you decided yet?"

Bruce sighed. In all honesty, there was nothing much he could do without his utility belt, and it was gone thanks to Robin and his friends. The fan was too strong. Not only were his arms aching, but the rope he grabbed hold of was on it's last thread. It was either now or never.

"There's nothing else we can do." Batman admitted, defeated.

Clark gave him a look of understanding. The man knew Bruce hated to be wrong—you never got anywhere when you were wrong, and yet…well, Robin and his friends were pretty smart too and they kept a city of their own safe and sound. The Teen Titans were right on their own ground and if they went through the fan…then they would follow.

"What do you think comes after this?" Superman asked.

"Hopefully, not another wind tunnel." His last threads jerked. "The moment my rope gives way, let go and follow he to the fan."

Yep…they were going to hit the fan.

-GL, J-

"Do you want to go first, or would you prefer it if I tried it?"

The Green Lantern didn't say anything. They had paced around for a bit (on the spots they knew weren't explosive) before deciding that someone else should try to blow themselves up. The kid was on his own (wherever he was) and could probably use some backup, even if he wasn't in any immediate danger. Teams stick together…and that's what they should've decided at the beginning.

"No…I'll go first." The GL shook each leg out, preparing to do a mad dash. "Wish me luck."

"My prayers are with you."

With a nod and a deep breathe he was off. It didn't take him that long to find an explosive tile, though. In five seconds he hit it—and it hit him right back.

The GL was propelled high into the air from the explosion before he landed ten feet away. Luckily he didn't land on another explosive area, but, unfortunately, Jo'nn didn't know how to get to him without risking an injury.

"John—are you alright?"

The Green Lantern sat up; both hands hovering around his left leg, the one he stepped on the tile with. It wasn't bleeding but the sharp pain in his shin followed the pounding rush of blood told him it was broken… "N-no….my leg…"

"Sorry, duckies. It's not going to be as easy for your lot to get through game."

It was the weird British guy again…the one who thought everyone was a duck.

Jo'nn stared up at the gaping abyss above. "What do you mean?"

"You're boring. Our beef is with the Titans and that's where it'll always be, mate. So, as they pass through the rounds, we'll exterminate you."

"You can't kill us if we don't move."

"Exactly—so the tiles will have to move for you…"

Just then the floor lit up. It kind of reminded him of a disco floor with it's blue and red tiles. He assumed that the explosive tiles wouldn't remain all the same color and he knew John had thought of that too by the look on his face. The man struggled to stand on his one foot and watched as a few of the tiles shifted colors…

"If you think this is a kick in the mouth, just image how your friends the Bat and the Superb man are going to feel once they realize they're mistake…That is, if they live long enough to figure it out…"

-B, Sp-

There was the slight sound of a torn thread and suddenly his rope gave way. Batman was nearly tempted to hold his breath as he began the long descent toward the fan, hoping that he'd be able to find Robin and his friend immediately after he and Superman fell…

…But in the pit of his stomach, he knew something was terribly wrong…

-A-

I would have made this longer, but I couldn't help myself. I just had to leave you there at that little cliffhanger. I have killed characters in the past…what do you think will happen?

Until Again,

Alexnandru Van Gordon