okay, so I worked on this some this past Saturday, and it was just flowing out, now I have to add another chapter, but it will be worth it.
Chapter Ten
The team decided to try and follow clues while M'gann tried to locate her uncle. M'gann was able to keep everyone connected while they searched around the falls and the nearby woods in pairs of two. Kid Flash and Artemis started searching around the cave that Artemis was captive in but there was more to the area than just that cave. Aqualad and Superboy searched around both the main and the further down falls, and Robin and Cardinal were searching some of the hiding spots they found on their many trips to the area.
The young Martian was still beating herself up inside for attacking her friends and the uncle. Sure she had her friends' forgiveness, but she now worried about how J'onn was going to feel. She was near a wooded area when she picked up a huge wave of fear. The young hero followed the wave as it got stronger; then she found them. J'onn was dangling over a huge fire and Ma'alefa'ak was just laughing.
"Guys, I found them in what looks like an untraveled part of the woods near the main falls. Uncle J'onn is in danger, and it's going to take all of us to help him." M'gann said in the team's mind link, and sent an image to her friends/teammates.
"I know that area, sometimes Bruce would take me there so I could work on controlling the intensity of my powers." Cardinal said back after seeing the image.
"We will find you, stay hidden. I know you wish to save J'onn, but we must be together." Aqualad said.
"Right, Aqualad." M'gann said
"Artemis and I will be there in a couple of seconds." Kid Flash said.
M'gann then waited, but it was hard seeing her uncle in this situation, but she knew her friends were right, and Kid and Artemis were there just when the young speedster said. It wasn't three minutes later when Robin and Cardinal appeared. They waited for Aqualad and Superboy, but as they did, Ma'alefa'ak disappeared.
"He's gone invisible, and only Uncle J'onn has Martian Vision which could locate Ma'alefa'ak, and he's blocking me from using my powers." M'gann said, then she remembered that they were missing two people. "Aqualad, Superboy, are you close, my powers are being blocked, so I lost the mind link."
"We are close by, in fact, I see the fire flickering." Aqualad's voice came back over the batfamily comm. links.
"Alright, we'll watch for you. Ma'alefa'ak has disappeared, but that doesn't mean he's left the area." Robin said.
Just then, the last two team members of the team appeared.
"Can you reduce the strength of the fire?" Aqualad questioned.
"Yea, I just didn't want to tip Ma'alefa'ak off that we've found him." Cardinal stated.
"Kid, Superboy and I will draw the evil Martian's attention. Cardinal you get the fire to die down, and M'gann, once you get control over your powers back, you help us fight. Robin and Artemis will help J'onn." Aqualad said, taking up his usual team leader role.
The team nodded assuring that they knew their role, and went to get in position. Once Aqualad confirmed the team was ready, he and Superboy went to take care of their part. The Atlantean and Kryptonian clone walked out as if they knew only J'onn was there.
"Aqualad, Superboy; you cannot be here, my brother is somewhere around here." J'onn stated, looking at the young protégés with fear in his eyes.
"It is alright, we searched the area, Ma'alefa'ak is nowhere around." Aqualad said, hoping to lure the Martian in question out of hiding.
"That's where your wrong, Kaldur." Ma'alefa'ak's voice said throughout the area.
"You're a coward for doing this, come out and fight us." Superboy said, anger in his voice.
"Very well, brats. You think that just because you have the same powers or abilities as your mentors that you are at their level." Ma'alefa'ak said, and with that he appeared right beside the fire that J'onn was dangling over.
The evil Martian then levitated himself and started flying right at the two heroes. Superboy and Aqualad readied themselves, but did not expect Ma'alefa'ak to use his telekinesis to lift the boy of steel into the air. Aqualad knew that Ma'alefa'ak would go after Superboy for his 'coward' remark, so that gave him time to activate his water maces and the team leader ran up behind the enemy and swung. Kid was able to create a small tornado to catch Superboy when he was thrown backward.
Cardinal saw that the distraction was working, and M'gann felt Ma'alefa'ak's block disappear, and she got ready to fight him. Cardinal stayed hidden but was able to use her powers to reduce the strength of the fire, then made it disappear altogether. When J'onn saw this, he knew the entire team was there, and it wasn't long before Robin and Artemis came out of hiding and Robin threw a bird-a-rang; then Artemis went to catch the Justice League member.
"Thank you, but where is M'gann." J'onn asked the archer as she carried him away.
"Ma'alefa'ak was blocking her powers, we hope that with him distracted her powers will return." Artemis said as Robin came to help her carry J'onn.
M'gann tried using her powers, and she was able to reestablish the team's mental link. She then tried to enter Ma'alefa'ak's mind, and that caused the villain to turn in her direction.
"So, you thought you could get into my mind, well little girl, it's time I destroy you permanently." Ma'alefa'ak said, and he headed in M'gann's direction.
"M'gann what are you doing." Robin asked.
"Getting him away from the others, this way, Cardinal and I will be the only ones hurt if it comes to that." M'gann said. "Just get Uncle J'onn out of here."
"M'gann's right, he doesn't seem to have a fear of fire, but that won't stop me from burning him." Cardinal said.
"You two stay safe then, and we will return once we are sure that J'onn is safe." Aqualad said, and with that, he and the rest of the team headed out after Robin and Artemis.
Ma'alefa'ak was nearing where he could sense M'gann, when all of a sudden, a fireball came roaring at him. The villain was able to dodge, but he had forgotten for a second how Cardinal's powers worked. He then turned and saw the fireball coming back at him. Even the Green Martian's telekinetic shield was unable to protect him indefinitely. Cardinal saw her opportunity and sent another fireball at his back.
YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ
The rest of the team was pretty far away from where M'gann and Cardinal were, but they listened to their teammate and got her uncle to safety. They were about three miles away by the time they stopped. Robin then got the inhibitor collar key out of his belt and used it to free the Martian.
"Thank you." J'onn said as he felt the collar release from his neck. "How were you prepared with that key?"
"Come on J'onn, you know how paranoid Batman can be. He learned about two weeks ago that several inhibitor collars went missing, and so he gave me his key in case they were meant for us." Robin said as he put the key and inhibitor collar away.
"J'onn, we need to know exactly what we are dealing with. M'gann and Cardinal are back there keeping him distracted while we help you." Aqualad said.
"They will be alright, but my brother does not have a fear of fire like I and M'gann do. He is cunning, and I came to find out that he was in fact controlling M'gann. You see years ago, his powers were stripped away, at least his mental powers; but just as he captured me, I learned that he has somehow retrieved those powers." J'onn informed the team.
"We'll beat him, then use this inhibitor collar on him." Robin said.
By this point, Superboy was seething with hatred for the new Martian that had controlled his girlfriend and turned her against himself and his friends. Aqualad and Robin each gave him a reassuring look telling him that they would get Ma'alefa'ak.
"Are you okay to join us." Aqualad asked.
"Yes, it will take all of us to fight him, as he knows who you all are and the limit of your abilities." J'onn said as he stood up.
The team and J'onn started heading back to the area where they left Cardinal and Miss Martian to fight with the villainous Martian.
YJYJYJYJYJYJ
Ma'alefa'ak had Cardinal in the air and was crushing her with his telekinesis. Miss Martian was going in and out of consciousness since her evil uncle kept using psychic blasts on her to keep her out of the way.
"You really are harder to handle than I thought you would be, but since your brother and friends abandoned you to take care of my brother, this will be a piece of cake." Ma'alefa'ak said with his evil laugh in his speech.
"We…will…stop…you,…all of us." Cardinal struggled to get out as she was fighting the pain in her body, but she was about to pass out from the strain.
It wasn't three seconds later that Ma'alefa'ak was surrounded by a tornado, and Cardinal fell out of the air since the villain couldn't concentrate. She was about to hit the ground when she felt strong arms catch her. It was Aqualad that caught her, and she looked at her teammate with the famous Grayson smile. Soon enough, Miss Martian was up, and being supported by Superboy. Robin and Artemis came up and threw/released some of their projectiles.
It was then, that Ma'alefa'ak was lifted in the air, and when he was turned around, he saw his brother. With all the heroes together, Ma'alefa'ak knew he could take them out with one psychic blast. The team started falling one by one, but M'gann was able to protect Cardinal and herself before the blast hit them. Even J'onn was knocked out.
"So, it's just the fire brat and you; you filthy half breed martian. One of the reasons I'm glad my sister died because of my curse; Your father was below her, and soon enough the white Martians will die just as the Green did." Ma'alefa'ak said as he looked right at the young Martian.
M'gann had tears in her eyes at the mention of her mother's death, then what he said about her father, and suddenly, a strange tornado formed around the area, and M'gann automatically entered Ma'alefa'ak's mind.
Okay, it's safe to say that M'gann is pissed off, but will he mind power alone be able to stop her EVIL uncle, you'll have to wait for chapter 11 to find out.