"KARM! KARMKARMKARMKARMKARM-!"
"WHAT, Flash?" She interrupted, pausing 'Aqua Teen Hunger Force'.
"I'm kinda busy-."
"NOTIMEDE'SMISSINGGOTTAMOVE!"
In a blur, Flash picked up Karm and was in the monitor room in record time, still vibrating, as Batman looked up from the monitors.
"…Okay, two things. One, NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. And two, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
"Psych has been kidnapped."
Put on her feet in one swift moment, the shock of such a shift overrode her rage for the moment.
"Where was she? What happened?"
"It was a mission to Nevada." Batman informed, bringing up an old video.
"A dragon monster was causing damage, and we sent her, J'onn, and Hawkgirl to deal with it. It was a trap."
"WHO?" Karm demanded, nearly snarling.
"We don't know."
Flash shrunk in on himself, hiding behind Batman, at the rage energizing the air around her.
"YOU DON'T KNOW!?!"
"He is not a villain we have faced before, and his only target was Delila."
"Why the HELL would he kidnap De?! Is he TRYING to piss me off!?!"
"That might be his aim." Batman replied.
"Be careful when you go with Flash, Hawkgirl and J'onn to retrieve her."
"Careful as a bull in a china shop."
Her head was throbbing, like a dull hammer slamming against her skull, and De groaned as it once again shattered her focus.
She was barely awake, arms aching and legs sore, unable to either wake up or slip into unconsciousness, stuck in this grey in-between world.
'Karm…Wally…Where are you?'
"Good morning, Lily. It's time to wake up."
The voice was eerily familiar, haunting, with a hint of uncontained hysteria that set her on-edge.
"No need to pretend you're asleep, honey. I know you can hear me."
A slight threat hung in the air from that, and De forced her eyes open so she wouldn't know the consequence of not obeying.
Vision blurry at first, she blinked to clear it, finding herself in a dark, metal-walled prison cell, a door facing her from across the room.
Chains held her arms up over her head and bound her feet to the floor, leaving her limbs aching.
Mind still fuzzy from her long 'sleep', De couldn't find the owner of the haunting voice until he bounced in front of her.
Jolting in surprise, the redhead tried to calm her heartbeat as he grinned widely.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty!" He greeted.
Leering up at her with bright yellow eyes, dark hair falling over his forehead and skin glowing eerily in the half-light, he seemed like an unearthly, almost evil, being.
"I'm glad you could make it in time for the festivities! I've been waiting for you!"
"Wh-What festivities?" De wondered, trying to keep her voice steady.
She needed to stay strong…
"The wedding, of course! I've been planning it since they took you away, and now that I have found you, you'll never leave me again!"
He looked over-excited, as if his dreams were about to come true, and turned towards the door.
"All I have to do is get rid of anyone that would try and stop me!"
De's heart quaked as he closed the door, the lock sliding into place with such finality that her thoughts scattered.
'Oh no…'
"This building is heavily guarded. At least a hundred guards are visible, and there are many times more within. The dragon is also patrolling the outer walls. Delila is in the center of the building."
Karm quirked an eyebrow, taking in J'onn's analysis slowly…
"Is that all?"
A slow smirk crossed her face, and the brunette cracked her knuckles forebodingly.
"This'll be easy."
It seemed De's captor was serious about the wedding, considering he had sent a few women soldiers to collect her…
She didn't consider herself very strong, but the redhead put up a bit of a fight before they dragged her into another room.
This one seemed more like a large bedroom, with a queen-sized canopy bed, a large vanity mirror atop a desk of sorts, and a barred window.
Thrown inside, De barely managed to stand before a young woman stepped into the room around the soldiers.
As the door was closed and locked, De managed to pick herself up, still breathing heavily from her scuffle.
"Master Chase wishes for me to help you prepare for the ceremony."
Before De could find something to say, feeling sympathy towards the soft-spoken girl, the entire building shook violently.
Her spirits soared.
"Karm's here."
Walking through a hole made in the wall, Karm didn't even look at the guard rushing at her from the right before lifting her fist.
He ran straight into it, knocking himself unconscious, as she walked further into the building.
Shayera, J'onn, and Flash followed behind, none wanting to be in front of Karm while she went on a rampage.
At least thirty soldiers surrounded them, rifles aimed for their chests, but Karm showed no fear.
"Bring it on."
As the bullets bounced off her skin, Karm plunged her hand into the ground and lifted up a chunk of concrete.
It acted as a partial shield for her comrades before the brunette swung it fiercely, knocking over all the soldiers in her way.
Dropping the concrete, Karm breathed deeply and tried to reign in her anger.
"Karm, relax. We'll find her." Shayera assured, wings ruffled.
"I'll relax when I've found her." Karm snapped, stomping down a hallway.
The Thanagarian's own guilt reared it ugly head, believing that her friend was angry with her for losing De, but J'onn placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Karma is not angry with you. She is angry with herself."
"Isn't that worse?" Flash voiced, looking worriedly after the brunette as they began to follow.
Despite all the threats and punches and shouting, Karm and Flash were actually good friends, trading banter and jokes most of the time.
He understood her guilt at not being there for De, he felt the same, but did not want it to eat her whole.
"Only time will tell."
Batman didn't pause in his work at the monitors as Superman walked in, looking as if he wanted to say something.
This was NEVER a good sign…
"I hear you sent Karm out to find De."
'Oh, so that's what's bothering him…'
"She is capable of handling whatever he can do."
"…Bruce, you know how much she cares about De. She could-."
"She won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"…"
'Because Karma wouldn't kill in front of De, no matter how much she would kill FOR her. She wants to protect De's innocence, not rip it away.'
"Because she's Karma."