A/N: Zin: First off- We appreciate the love for this story, we really do. But, please be patient with chapter updates. Both of us have busy schedules and school. This story will not be abandoned, but we will update when we update.
Em: On that note, we also apologize for how long we took to update. We do have our reasons, but it has been awhile.
Zin: The goal is to have FoM done by the end of 2015. With Christmas break nearing, we should have more time to get it done, if we stop procrastinating.
Em: Probably easier said than done, but we'll work on it.
Zin: I will force us to get this done. That said, I am really proud of how we did on this chapter. It came out really well (in my opinion). I own Ren and Creatonia. Emu owns Screech and the Owl Thanagarian minority.
Feedback is always appreciated.
Enjoy! :D
Update: 1/19/19: Backstory stuff with Ren. Editing crush stuff out.
December 13, 2010
Ren peaked up from her phone when she saw Autumn heading towards the zeta tubes, "Owlet? Where are you going?"
She stopped in her tracks and turned to face the Creatonian, "Just going to explore the caves around the mountain."
"Been there. Done that." She looked back to her phone, "Have fun and stay safe."
She nodded before continuing to the tubes, "I will! See ya later."
Autumn had been out for about half an hour and hadn't made it too far into the caverns, seeing as she was rather busy admiring the rock structures, taking a few pictures and mentally noting possible places to explore more.
She was considering using one of these caves as a bolthole when the ground started to shake slightly. It stopped after a few seconds, but she was a lot less keen on going further now. Turning around, she warily headed back the way she had come. Things remained calm for a while, and she started to relax a bit.
Without warning, the shaking started up again, worse than before. Autumn broke into a clumsy run, knocking into the cave walls and stumbling over her feet. In her haste, she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end. Before she could turn around and start running back, the ceiling started falling in. The owl backed up against the wall, trying to avoid the falling rocks.
The dust soon settled, revealing a wall of rock blocking off the tunnel she had come from. Immediately, she sprang up and ran for the wall. "Oh no, no no no. Please be a way out, please, please," she muttered as she paced back and forth with her flashlight, searching frantically for a hole big enough to squeeze through or a weak spot on the rocks. But all the gaps were too small, and any rocks she could move would probably cause another cave in.
"Okay... Okay, stay calm. I'm not trapped; I still have my phone and comm. Just call Tasia. She'll get me out."
Rummaging through her pouch, she quickly found her phone and dialed the Creatonian, but nothing happened. She glanced at the screen. No service.
"Just great! Of course!" She ran a slightly shaky hand through her hair. "Okay, try the comm. Maybe it'll work better." She activated the device. "Screech Owl here, does anyone read me?"
Nothing but static.
Autumn started pacing the small area of the cave anxiously, panic rising in her chest. "Not again, please no..." She walked over to the new wall again and started yelling, "SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!" She knew it would be useless, though. No one else would be down here, and she hadn't been gone nearly long enough for someone to start searching for her.
Autumn forced herself to stop yelling and breathe. "D-don't worry, someone will come. Tasia or Kaldur. Someone will find me. Hopefully sooner than later."
It had been hours since Ren had last seen or heard from Autumn. She was growing worried about the whereabouts of her friend. Autumn wasn't answering her comm and Ren couldn't find her anywhere around the Cave.
Kaldur told her not to worry and that she would turn up later. Ren still went out to look around the cave, where she had mentioned she was headed off to.
Ren was trekking through the wooded side of the Mountain. She was passing a few of the caves that were scattered throughout the area, "AUTUMN? Are you out there?"
The Creatonian just so happened to be nearing the cave the Autumn was trapped in. The Thanagarian had paced for a while, continuing to check for a signal or a way out. She ended up curling up in the corner of the cave, losing hope that she was ever going to be found. She jerked her head up when she heard the calls of her best friend, "Ren? REN!" She began to tear up with relief, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Ren could just make out the calls for help, "Kid? Where are you?"
Autumn's super hearing allowed her to hear Ren take a step in the wrong direction, causing her body to run cold with panic. She ran to the wall of collapsed rock and began to pound on it, not noticing the pain in her desperate hopes to make enough noise, "HERE! CAVE IN! T-TRAPPED! GETMEOUTGETMEOUTGETMEOUT!"
The Creatonian heard the pounding on the rock and turned to see the filled-in cave. She rushed over, "Here? Are you here?"
Autumn could make out Ren's louder voice outside the cavern, and sank against the wall, "YES! Yes… Oh, thank you. Please, let me out."
"Alright. Okay. Hang on kiddo." Ren took a deep breath.
Breathe.
Focus on your powers.
She was able to imagine a door portal to the other side of the cave and opened it. Autumn saw the door portal and sprung up, rushing out and crashing into Ren. The smaller girl clung to her friend, crying with relief, "Th-thank you."
Ren had stumbled back due to the impact of the hug but wrapped her arms around her. "Hey, hey. Kiddo. You're okay now. You're safe."
Autumn nodded mutely, but still didn't release the Creatonian. Ren, going into full big-sister-mode, pulled away to look the younger girl in the eye, "What happened?"
"Earthquake. The ceiling caved in, and I got stuck behind it. My phone and comm didn't work and," She looked away. "I sorta… freaked out."
Ren gave her a comforting smile, "Hey. It's alright. Most people aren't fearless. You're okay now."
Autumn fully let go of Ren and wiped the tears off her face, "Yeah. I know."
Ren furrowed her brows when she noticed that Autumn's hands were covered in scratches, "Why are you all cut up?"
"Wha-?" Autumn looked down at her hands, noticing the injuries for the first time. "Oh, I must have gotten those when pounding on the rocks." She gingerly opened her pouch and took out an armband, placing it against one hand to stop the bleeding. This left her other hand unattended to, but it wasn't too bad. She could cover it later.
The Creatonian reached over and ruffled the girl's hair, "We should get back to the Cave."
Autumn nodded and glanced around nervously, "Yeah. Let's go." She matched her pace with Ren's and the duo walked in silence for about thirty seconds before she spoke up, "Hey, Tas?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind not telling anyone about…" Autumn gestured to the rocks behind them, "That?"
The Creatonian nodded, "If that's what you want. I promise not to."
The younger girl looked ahead with a small smile on her face, "Thanks."
Recognized, Fantasia. B01.
Recognized, Screech Owl. B08.
The Team, who had gathered in the main section of the Cave, turned to face the zeta tubes at the sound of the computer's voice. Wally let out an exasperated laugh as the two girls walked towards their teammates, "There you two are!"
Kaldur stepped forward, towering over the young teens, "Where were you?"
Ren glanced at Autumn, unphased by the stern look the Atlantean was giving them, "Exploring."
Robin, who was standing next to Zatanna, piped up, "Find anything new?"
She tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear while shrugging, "Nothing I haven't seen before."
Conner narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell upon the Thanagarian's bandaged hand, "What happened to her hands?"
Autumn glanced up at him, but quickly averted her gaze and said, a bit too fast, "Ran into a thorn bush."
The Kryptonian said nothing but raised his brows in suspicion.
Autumn saw this and fidgeted with the end of her armband bandage, "It's nothing guys. Just some scratches."
M'gann stepped forward from her spot next to Conner, "If you're sure. I made some cookies if you want some."
Artemis crossed her arms and shot a glare at Wally, "There aren't any left."
The Martian looked over at the speedster, "Wally!"
He shrugged, unashamed, "Fast metabolism, okay?"
Autumn half heartedly smiled as she witnessed the speedster and Archer begin to bicker. She leaned closer to Ren, muttering to her, "I'm going to go clean up. There are bandages and disinfectant in the bathroom, right?"
The Creatonian nodded.
Conner's watchful eye followed the Thanagarian as she left without another word. His concern for the younger girl and curiosity for what had honestly occurred were growing, but he did not follow.
The Team had apparently just finished training, and the girls avoided an immediate lecture from Black Canary by coming in right after she'd left. Though, Ren knew that some drawn out speech on punctuality would be given to her by Bats later that night.
The rest of the teenage heroes dispersed, going off to do their own things. The Creatonian was surprised when Robin and Zatanna didn't leave together; the two had been spending quite a bit of time together. (Which Wally and Ren would constantly tease them about.)
The Boy Wonder made his way over to Ren, giving her a bit of a nudge. "You gonna tell me what really happened back there?"
She scrunched up her nose and nudged him back, "Promised not to. Why aren't you off spending time with your girlfriend." Ren's voice teasingly sang the final word, making Robin roll his eyes under his mask.
"Stop calling her that."
"You like her! Stop denying it."
"I- uhg." Robin shook his head in annoyed amusement. Once the Creatonian had her mind decided on something, it was a challenge to change it.
It wasn't that he didn't like Zatanna.
He did.
But, they had just starting getting close. He didn't want to rush things.
The acrobat let out a grunt as the Creatonian jumped on his back, her arms and legs wrapped around his like she was a koala. "You are now my ride. Take me to the kitchen."
"And why should I do that?"
"Because I can hear your stomach growling."
Robin let out a resentful, yet lighthearted grumble as he trudged towards their destination.
December 14, 2010, 3:27 AM
Autumn looked around her. She was in a huge, windowless building that looked like a warehouse, relatively clean but entirely barren. Dim yellow lights hanging from the ceiling provided a faint glow, casting a pitch black shadow behind her. A sense of foreboding hung heavily in the air.
She spotted a door on the furthest wall and started running towards it, flinching as her loud, echoing footsteps broke the absolute silence of the room.
Quickly reaching the door, she attempted to open it, but the handle refused to move.
Locked.
Fighting down fear, Autumn took another look around. Perhaps there was another way out? She spotted the loft ahead and started flying up to it in hopes of finding something helpful up there.
She wasn't ten feet off the ground before she flew face first into something and fell, landing on cold metal. Autumn shook herself out of her daze and pushed herself up so she could see what she had hit.
A… Metal bar? When did that get there?
A quick glance around revealed more of them, all around her, keeping her in.
She was in a cage. Alone. In a locked building. There didn't appear to be any way out; no padlock to pick, nor electronic lock to hack. And no one knew she was there.
She took a step towards the bars to inspect them for possible weak points, but the second her fingers met cool metal, a wave of sound bombarded her ears. Yelling.
Out of nowhere, dozens of hands grabbed at her from all sides, the faces of their owners blurred and indistinct. They grabbed at her arms, legs, clothes, and wings. Autumn was unable to stay out of reach in her cramped confinement, and the hands caught hold of her, pulling and clawing angrily. She tried to struggle, to get away from them, but she couldn't move, couldn't escape. She was trapped.
Autumn shot awake in her bed, eyes flickering around wildly. Bookshelf, dresser, alarm clock… She was in her room at the cave. The girl pulled her knees close to her, trying to calm down her loud, rasping breaths; the only sound in the otherwise dead silence.
The only thing to occupy her mind was the memory the dream of that building. Her first year or so on earth, she had visited that place frequently in her nightmares. It had been awhile since she had dreamed about it, but it didn't take much thought to figure out what the trigger had been.
Autumn looked down and let out a shuddering sigh. Red was seeping through the bandages around her hands: she must've reopened the cuts in her sleep. But it wasn't bad. It'd probably stop bleeding in a matter of minutes, and besides; she couldn't be bothered to change them.
The confined-quiet quickly got to the Thanagarian. Deciding just to sit outside for a bit, she got out of bed, slipping on her coat and grabbing her belt pouch out of habit. Slowly, she crept towards the door to her room, almost scared to try and open it.
It slid open with little resistance. Through her relief, Autumn chided herself. Of course, it was unlocked, why wouldn't it be? She was on home territory.
She had only taken a few steps outside of her room before she stopped sharply, taking a quick step back to avoid being run into. "Conner?"
The clone raised a questioning eyebrow. "Where're you going?"
"Just outside," Autumn replied, trying to step around Conner but being blocked each time. "You're welcome to join me; I'm not going anywhere special."
The Kryptonian shrugged indifferently but followed the girl out of the door and to a small ledge. The two sat next to each other, neither speaking.
After a little glance at Conner's usual short-sleeve shirt, Autumn took her small metal orb out of her pouch and messed with the buttons. The older hero didn't know it, but she had just activated the mini-atmosphere setting to guard against the December night chill. She didn't need it-if she got cold, she could cover up with her wings and fluff out her feathers-but she wasn't sure about her Kryptonian friend.
"What are you doing up, anyway?" She asked as she put the device away.
Conner shrugged again. "You were mumbling in your sleep."
Autumn looked up at him. "I-I was?" The clone nodded, and the Owl looked down at her hands. "Oh... Sorry."
Silence hung in the air between them, neither sure what to say. Finally, Conner attempted to break the silence, tentatively reaching out towards Autumn as he spoke. "You know Screech, if something's wrong, you can-"
The young heroine jerked away fearfully as his hand touched her shoulder, effectively cutting off the clone.
Conner's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Autumn had never displayed such aversion to touch before. Sure, she never seemed overly fond of it either, but her flinching away so violently was... unsettling. What was wrong?
He could see Autumn's eyes were tightly shut, her breathing was faster, and she was lightly trembling. The girl had curled up into herself as though to protect herself from attack. Instinctively, he started to reach out for her again but thought better of it. Instead, he called out, "Screech?"
Receiving no reaction, he watched on in concern as his teammate fought herself back under control. It took about a minute for her to manage it. Breathing now back to normal, she opened her amber orbs and looked up at Conner. After a few seconds, she offered up a weak smile. "S-sorry, I'm just sorta jumpy tonight."
Conner was having none of it. "What was that about?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," the Thanagarian replied, trying to play the whole thing off as nothing. Her fidgeting with the hem of her pajama pants belied her words. She knew this but hoped the clone wouldn't comment on it. She didn't want to get into an argument with yet another teammate and, wired as she was; she knew that would probably happen if he pushed her too far. Plus, if she snapped she'd probably mention that his touch had momentarily flashed her back to her dream in the most incoherent way possible and likely get herself sent to Black Canary. As much as she liked the older heroine, she was in no mood for her professional company.
She was also strongly unwilling to do anything that might drive Conner away in the future. The fact that he had come to check on her when he heard her having a nightmare was rather touching, and she didn't want him to regret it. Shouting at him would almost certainly put him off.
...But God, she hoped she hadn't actually woken him up. Or said anything she didn't want him to know.
In fact, Conner was thinking about how Screech would be mortified to know that she had woken him. He hadn't been asleep long, perhaps about an hour or so, when her sleep-talking had wormed its way into his sleep, consequently disrupting it. He hadn't been able to understand much, though. What he could make out was mainly along the lines of "No!" and "Let me go!" But the mutterings had been occasionally punctuated with pained cries, and through it all, her breathing rate had been much too fast. He had also heard Screech's bed frame creaking as she thrashed about restlessly.
He had only listened for a few minutes before he made up his mind to see if she was okay, and he was glad he had. She definitely needed some company. She was in no way the most open of the Team, but to see her almost hiding in her coat, knees to her chin, eyes down and sitting a foot away from his arm to make sure she didn't mistakenly brush up against him, was just sad. He hated seeing her like that.
Glancing down at Screech's fidgeting fingers, Conner noticed the now-dry substance that had seeped through her bandages. He debated with himself over whether or not he should say something but bit his tongue. It didn't look too bad, and the Thanagarian would probably prefer to fix it herself in the morning. She did have a tendency of wanting to tend to her own wounds.
Conner really wanted to know what had her so shaken up. He was 95% certain it had to do with whatever had happened while she was exploring. Clearly, she hadn't simply run into a thornbush, if that had even occurred. She was obviously covering something up, and Fantasia had helped her. So either the Creatonian somehow didn't know what was wrong or, much more likely, thought that the problem was minor enough that the Team didn't need to know. A mild reassurance. But still...
The clone bit the inside of his cheek for a second before opening his mouth. "Can I... Is there anything I can do to help?"
Autumn's gaze flew up to meet Conner's, relieved and a little surprised. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Maybe... stay out here with me? If you don't mind, of cour-"
"No problem," he cut her off, shooting her a little smile that she gratefully returned.
"Thanks."
The two friends lapsed into a comfortable silence, lost in their thoughts. And as the sky lightened, Autumn slowly managed to relax, the lingering fear from her dream and the previous day gradually melting away. By the time dawn broke and various shades of red and orange bathed the clouds, she was sitting with her legs dangling over the ground, almost shoulder to shoulder with Conner.
Fin