Disclaimer: I will never own anything related to Young Justice… EVER!
A/N: And I throw in a but of my favorite scientists because it's been too long! But only a little bit.
Chapter 10: Monster
(Back at the Cadmus Facility)
Alwin was currently sitting in his office making the proper arrangements for his soon to be new arrival. Ah yes, any day now… As he finishes up some notes he hears a quiet knock on his door. "Yes?" He already had a guess as to who it was going to be.
As the door slides open he can hear the quiet foot steps of his assistant enter the room. "Sir, Subject #6 has begun the changes." Hmm, it seems that Six is fast with everything. He's escalating much sooner than all of the other Subjects. "But sir there may be a problem…"
"A problem? And you didn't think to mention this first?" He has no idea why he even keeps Colburn around.
"Well, it's not too big but it seems the leader has deviated off the plan." He turns and looks quizzically at the younger man waiting for him to continue. "Uh… Well you see… He seems to be contacting the Subject now while he's awake."
Hmm… "Well if he thought it was going to cause a problem he wouldn't have done it." He's not too concerned, he has faith that the Leader would do it's job.
"B-but sir!"
Violently Alwin snaps back. "Are you questioning my judgment? Let me remind you who's in charge here Mr. Colburn, One false move and you could disappear without anyone knowing what happened to you. Do I make myself clear?" He can't stand insubordination.
Colburn quickly makes for an exit. "Yes sir! I'm terrible sorry to bother, it won't happen again." That's for sure…
(Back in Mt. Justice)
Wally stood there and watched in slow motion as the sparkling fragments of the mirror fall to the ground with a clatter. Staring at the wall where his fist left a smear of blood, he slowly retracts his hand. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes with out you hurting yourself." Tatem's tone is one you would use to scold a child.
Abruptly he turns to see it sitting just inside the door. "Just leave me alone…" If he wasn't so upset he might be wondering how it got in here but he was too preoccupied with his hand. He turned on the faucet and was currently rinsing the blood away when he heard the glass on the floor start crackling.
"Oh but my dear boy, we need to stick together. I'm all you have." The creature purrs as it draws nearer. Still holding his hand under the flowing water there wasn't much he could do when he felt Tatem press up behind him. "You heal faster than most, correct?"
He wasn't sure if he should be telling him this but he had a feeling the beast already knew the answer but was only asking to make conversation. "Yeah, but it's slower when I'm hungry." As if on cue his stomach lets out a loud complaint. That's right, I haven't eaten since before training. At the reminder of the training incident his thoughts flash back over to Rob. I can't believe I was so mean. Maybe they're right… maybe I truly am a monster inside and out.
Sensing his thoughts Tatem rubs his face into the crook of Wally's neck, Seriously what is its obsession with my neck? But to his surprise he's less scared than he would have thought. "Mmm, you're not a monster to me." The warm exhalation of the words tickle his ear and strangely he feels himself lean into the gesture. What the hell!? He straightens up not being able to move since he was still trapped between the counter and the creature.
"Yeah well, that doesn't make me feel all that much better." He snarls at it. But the beast was not fooled, it knew he was slowly becoming more comfortable with his presence.
It chuckles in his ear. "Yes, I see that…" Then he feels its fur graze his ear as it speaks. "Regardless you still need to eat something and if you don't go on your own I'll make you go myself."
This time his anger wins over and he spins around. "I can take care of myself! I don't need…" His voice trails off as he realizes he's alone in the bathroom. But… It was just here? He rubs his eyes; maybe he really is going crazy.
Remember you only see what I want you to see. The sleek voice of Tatem crawls into his mind. Of coarse he wouldn't be that lucky. Just then his stomach elicits another angry growl. Sighing he turns of the faucet then proceeds to tiptoe his way through the broken mirror fragments on the floor. He'll have to clean it later along with the disaster in his room when he gets the chance.
He really didn't want to leave his room but his stomach wasn't leaving him with many options. Moving towards the door he goes to open it only to be interrupted. "You aren't going out there like that?"
"What?" Wally turns to see the predator lying on his floor amongst the chaos.
"Have you even looked at yourself?" Confused he looks down at himself and is at a loss; his shirt was covered in the blood from his hand, he was also bathed in small shimmering pieces of the broken mirror, his hand wasn't wrapped or anything, and he can only imagine what his uncombed hair looks like. He looked like a mental patient to say the least. Silently the creature stands and starts to make his way towards the teen. "Honestly, if I wasn't here how would you ever be able to function?"
Not appreciating the insinuation Wally retorts. "If you weren't here then none of this would be happening in the first place!"
The creature's previously good mood suddenly dissolved and a scowl graces its features. "You have no idea how wrong you are." At that the beast quickly dissolves back to where ever it had come from leaving only slight wisps of shadow as testament to its departure.
Shocked, Wally stands there dumbfounded. That was the last thing he was expecting and if he had known thats how it would react he would have said that a long time ago! Quickly he assesses himself again and decides it would be best to follow Tatem's advice and fix his appearance before he ventured out.
While getting changed his thoughts drift towards the team again; if he was lucky they won't be out in the living room or kitchen and he'd be able to just sweep through and grab something without being noticed. But the way his life was going right now he had no illusions that it would be that easy.
Soon as he finished he takes a minute to collect himself. Then he slowly opens the door to the hallway, looking out into the corridor to make sure no one was around before he cautiously leaves his room. So far so good. Maybe he'll get a small miracle after all? But as he draws closer towards the living room the sounds of talking reaches his ears. Damn! He knew it was too good to be true.
As he reaches the end of the hallway he can just make out the words being spoken. "Robin I'm sure he is fine." It sounds like Kaldur was speaking to Rob…
"No you don't understand… We tell each other everything but I know he was lying straight to my face." Oh no…
"Well maybe he had good reason to?"
"Good reason to lie to me when I'm only trying to help him?" If only you knew Rob, then you wouldn't want to help me.
There was a slight pause before Kaldur sighs. "I don't know. Perhaps we should talk to him together?" No! Thats the last thing he needs.
"No. At least not right now. He didn't look too good and I think he needs a little bit of space for now. But we will talk to him eventually." Leave it to Rob to be too nice for his own good. Even after I hurt him he still looking out for me.
"Fine, but are we going to tell the others?" Tell the others? Tell them what exactly?!
"No. Not yet at least. I want to figure out whats wrong before we tell anyone else. But I am going to let Red Arrow know, he might be able to help us." Ugh, what am I going to do? If they suspect somethings wrong enough to get Roy involved… He was so engrossed in his thoughts he had missed the rest of the conversation and only when he heard their footsteps approaching did he snap back to reality.
Quickly he scans the area for anywhere he could hide, finding the closet he uses what's left of his speed to get inside without being seen. He waits for the steps to pass the door when he finally exhales the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He waited another minute before exiting the small closet. Looking to make sure they were gone, he carefully closes the door trying to be as quiet as possible.
After hearing that conversation Wally didn't think he could feel any more horrible about himself. I can't believe Robin's still worrying about me… and he's trying to get the others to try and help him. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, on the one hand it means that they still care for him even after he'd been such a jerk but on the other hand it could also cause him problems.
They only care right now because they don't know whats wrong. Once they find out, you know they will abandon you. Lock you up and throw away the key. Tatem's voice flitters through his mind.
He thought he'd gotten rid of him! I will never abandon you, unlike those people you call 'friends.' Don't you remember how quickly that little one had turned on you? What do you think will stop him from doing it again later if he finds out what you are? Wally pauses, the uncertainty from before resurfacing in full force.
Just leave me alone, please… He didn't want to deal with it right now, he had too much to worry about and his stomach was still nudging him to feed it. Sullenly he walks into the living room and from where he stood he could smell something foul. Scrunching his nose he heads towards the smell coming from the kitchen. What is that?
When he enters he can only see a plate of cookies that Megan had apparently made. I must have really upset her for her to make that many cookies… At that thought he plunges further into his despair. Looking at the cookies has his stomach growling furiously at him and his mouth watering fiercely. Oh they do look good though… And it doesn't look like anyones touched them. Maybe they won't notice if I have just one?
Reaching out to grab one he doesn't hesitate to take a bite but suddenly his mouth tastes like its been filled with something rotten. Immediately his spits the contents into the sink nearly gagging as he did. What the hell? He looks at the cooking in his hand. It doesn't look bad? Cautiously his brings it to his nose. Ugh! But there's that nasty smell again! Whats going on?
It's all part of the changes. You'll find that, as time goes on, a lot of things will seem different to you. Tatem's nonchalant tone made him angry.
"I don't want this! I wish you would just disappear and things would go back to normal!" He was so mad he hadn't realized he'd actually yelled that out loud.
And he didn't notice that someone was behind him. "Oh… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so upset…" He turns around to see Megan standing there placing more cookies on the counter top. As he looks he can see a slight shine to her eyes. "I'll just go then…"
"No, wait Megan I didn't mean…" But she was already gone. Ugh! Why am I so stupid!?
Do not fret over such things, just worry about yourself for now. The silky voice attempts to distract him.
Of coarse I'm going to worry about that! She's my friend and now I've upset her even more, all because of you! He didn't appreciate the beasts input.
Growling it's annoyance it tries again. But there's nothing you can do right now, so why don't you just find something to feed on and then you can worry about those creatures. Not liking the way Tatem had described his friends as creatures but not having the energy to argue anymore, he sighs in defeat and sets out in search of something he could consider edible.
A/N: Well I know the end seemed a bit abrupt but it was getting far too long haha Well anyways next chapter I will be having the teams point of view for a change, but I will still sneak in a bit of Wally towards the end I hope! Oh and I want to know, would you guys like to see something with Wally "hunting?" Like no gore or anything like that, I just have some ideas that I could use but if no ones interested its not a vital part of the plot so I can skip it.
On to reviews yo!
Geist1321: Haha well It's nice to see new people reviewing and it's also nice to see that you enjoy my story! :D
cary99: Thanks an bunch, I'm glad you liked it!
Dextra2: If only you knew what I have in store for him! *Evil laughter* Uhh, did I just do that?
I'mAGuestBeware: Ah yes, that pesky screen always get's in the way! And Tatems not so bad… Ok well you already know I'm a dirty liar haha. But thanks, and don't even say that! If I ever met someone who read my story I think I would immediately pass out like one of those fainting goats. But then again it would be quite awesome to meet you haha that way you could show me some of your awesome karate moves! But don't worry Robins not leaving him yet! My Tatem meter seems to be broken… It's spinning in circles O.o is that a good thing? And no watertight!? AWW, stupid Joker! But you haven't seen the big twist yet, but its coming and boy when it gets here you will know! And really you are too kind! Good god I think I'm passing out…
A Titan At Heart: I'm super glad you like it! And I know what you mean, Wally's slow descent into despair makes me happy too. I know I'm an evil person but hey, what can you do?
JadeBrycin2116: Wow you really think its that good!? And it is my first story; can you believe that writing has always been my worst subject too? And I know what you mean, even as I write this I'm sitting here doing the same thing! And you couldn't be more right about things getting worse before they get better hehehe, but that's all part of the fun! I'm super happy you've enjoyed it so far!
Well that's it; Leave me a review telling me if you liked it or maybe one telling me what your favorite color is? I don't know but I would love to hear about it!
