Chapter Ten
September 15
Hello dear reader. I must apologize for not being here so long, but there have been terrible things occurring in my world. Regardless of what I have said earlier, I do not just belong to the world of ink and paper and stories, it is simply the world I feel most useful in.
And now, let us continue the story of Artemis.
September 15
12:38 ICT (A.M.)
This is weird.
Robin had not left his seat upon the roof, hacking away at the hospital's records. He'd discovered that he could get into other hospital's systems, and was now checking how many recorded cases there were for each one.
He'd noticed a sort of pattern: The big cities barely had any cases, while the smaller cities and outlying areas were full of them.
And it was weird, especially since the sickness was supposedly passed through air. Vietnam was treating it as something minor, like the U.S. had treated H1N1 last year. A delay for the sickness had already been created, keeping the patient alive longer and slowing down the symptoms, and a cure was in the works.
Robin narrowed his eyes. Maybe the virus didn't start directly through this guy…
September 15
12: 40 ICT (A.M.)
M'gann's eyes were glowing a surreal green as she probed the mind of the man in the hospital bed. Memories flashed through her mind and she dug through all the information, searching for anything at all that related to the disease.
That's it! I've found it!
Blinking out of her trance, she turned towards Aqualad. "Aqualad, it didn't start with him like Robin thought – Aqualad? Kaldur?"
Kaldur shook the thoughts out of his head and the feeling of déjà vu off his shoulders again. These…flashes…they are coming more frequently now. "M'gann, you were saying?"
"It didn't start with him like Robin thought, but it did start with him. The disease is passed through fountain and tap water, and air, but only through close proximity. He brought the disease over from North Rhelasia by order of General Singh Manh Li…but, he was never told why."
"Who cares why? We've gotten what we needed, we know who started it." Superboy growled.
"That is not true. Our mission was to discover if Luthor was behind it. For all we know, he still could be. The order was from only North Rhelasia. Was there anything about the South?" Kaldur narrowed his eyes, thinking of the mission at hand, as always.
"No." M'gann shook her head.
"Guys, I found something. Come up here."
September 15
12: 45 ICT (A.M.)
"Check this out." Robin pointed at his blue holopad. "The pandemic's hit mainly the small cities and a ton of villages. The big cities aren't affected as much. That doesn't make sense if the disease is passed through the air."
"This would confirm what we discovered." Kaldur finished. "The virus is passed through water. It can be transmitted through air, but only through close proximity. Also, we do not know yet if Luthor is behind any of this."
"If the virus is passed through water, then the pattern makes more sense. Big cities, like Hamoi, have wastewater treatment plants that probably thin out the bacteria until it's almost nonexistent. Smaller cities are connected to different sewers that are a lot less thorough, and some outlying areas don't even have those. Did you find any trails to who could be behind this? Clues?"
"The order for the virus came from North Rhelasia, at least according to what I found." M'gann answered.
"Only North Rhelasia?" Robin cocked an eyebrow.
"Then maybe we should go to North Rhelasia. I'm sure we can get whatever we need there." Superboy folded his arms across his chest.
Robin looked at Superboy and then at Kaldur. "Seems like a good idea. The order came from North Rhelasia, but we don't know who created the disease. Luthor could still have a hand in this."
Kaldur nodded. "Very well. Miss Martian, contact the bio-ship and Kid."
M'gann closed her eyes, placing two forefingers on her temple. She furrowed her eyebrows. "The bio-ship's on her way, but…I'm not sensing Kid at all. Wait, hold on, I am sensing another consciousness, not very far - agh!" The Martian cried out, doubling over and clutching her head in pain.
"M'gann!" Superboy kneeled beside her. "M'gann, are you okay? What's wrong?"
She groaned, "Whoever this person is, their….memories…they're so vivid! Xin hãy giúp tôi!" M'gann's head jolted upward, and all could see her eyes glowing bright white. "Xin hãy giúp tôi!" she shouted again, in a voice that wasn't hers.
"What's she talking about?" Superboy's face was etched with panic as Robin furiously typed away at the holopad next to him.
"It takes a little while for the translator to upload, I haven't used it in a while-"
"Xin hãy giúp tôi, cứu tôi với!"
"M'gann, please, stop!" Superboy pleaded. He'd never felt so worried. Something inside him couldn't bear the idea of having this part of his Team broken.
"That wasn't her." Kaldur murmured.
"Huh?" Robin and Superboy looked up from their green-skinned friend.
Below them, on her knees in front of the hospital entrance, was a girl. "Cứu tôi với!" she cried, a perfect match to the voice that M'gann had been possessed with. She raised her head towards the sky, and they could see the paleness of her face; a stark contrast to the night.
Kaldur stared intently at the girl. The disease was born in water. Perhaps it will die in water. He leapt off the roof, carefully approaching her. He was well aware that the mask he wore would protect him from becoming ill, but he didn't want to startle her.
She saw him coming, but didn't move. Her eyes were foggy and dull, as though she was beyond ever comprehending anything again. "Cứu tôi - Cứu tôi với…"
September 15
1:03 ICT (A.M.)
Warm liquid trickled out of Kid's ear. He groaned, opening his eyes.
He blinked several times, and realized that it was just as dark with his eyes closed. He reached up to his ear, tentatively pulling out crumbling shards of sticky plastic and metal.
His comm. Great.
Carefully, he arched his neck upward, searching for light. "H-Hello?" he called out. He sat up on his knees, only to tilt backwards, realize that there was no longer any ground beneath him, and fell even farther into the darkness "Whoa!" his arms shot out, scrabbling along the walls for handhold or a grip, but before he could snag one-
crack!
"Augh!"
September 15
1:03 ICT (A.M.)
Artemis didn't know if she was awake or dreaming.
It was just as dark as the inside of her eyelids, yet she was blinking, so she assumed she was awake.
She shivered, propping herself up into a seating position as she rubbed her arms. I feel so cold.
A thud, followed by a sickening crack! rang throughout the blackness, causing Artemis to jump.
"Augh!"
There's someone else down here! Artemis started to breathe faster, not noticing how shallow her breath was.
"Aw, man, for crying out - could this day, I mean, night get any worse?"
The archer gasped. I know that voice! "Wally?"