SPOILERS for Artemis's past!
Okay, SUUUUUUUUUUUPER long...
I own nothing except for... *takes deep breath*... Wraith, Terrence, Jason, BlackHawk, Blaine, and Sparrow. *GASP* Okay... huh... anything else?
Okay, I'd just like to say anything I ever say or HAVE said that offends anyone, I'm really NOT trying to offend you. Truely, I'm a nice person (or so I've been told often), so please, if I offend or annoy you deeply, tell me so that I can apologize.
Okay... Hrm... We left off with Ras holding a knife to Batgirl's throat...
Nobody moved.
Ras a Ghul snarled and repeated, "Drop. Your. Weapons."
Batman's eyes flashed with pure rage when he saw a trickle of red run down Barbara's throat.
Suddenly, Speedy dropped his bow. Wraith took off his belt and threw it on the ground with a small crunch. Sparrow and Robin both took off their belts and let them fall to the floor slowly.
BlackHawk didn't move.
The old Asian man glared at BlackHawk. "Jason- Lower. Your. Weapons."
BlackHawk's eyes widened a bit, and he gasped, "How- how do you-"
Ras just laughed. "I trained Bruce when he was a young man- I think I would know who his children are."
All of the Justice Leaguers' eyes flashed towards Batman, some holding anger, some confusion, some pity, and some humor (Arrow and Flash. Grr.). Batman's chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to calm himself. Even with his uniform on, you could see how tense his arms and legs were. His fists clenched so tightly that the Kevlar over his knuckles almost ripped, wearing thin.
Ras spoke again, "I am giving you one more chance, Jason. Drop. Your. Belt."
Batgirl licked her lips, her eyebrows forced together in pain. She barely shook her head, mouthing, 'No- no, Jase. No!'
With a growl, BlackHawk dropped his belt to the floor.
Ras threw Batgirl into the ground, stomping straight on her injured leg. Her shrill shriek ran through the cavernous room in a banshee echo.
Three things happened in this instance.
1) BlackHawk grabbed up his belt, throwing it across his shoulders, and ran towards his sister.
2) Kid Flash ran and snatched up Batgirl before running her back behind the generator/super-computer.
3) Speedy grabbed up his bow and threw Sparrow and Robin to the side.
BlackHawk reached Ras in record time, unleashing a flying kick. But the old man (who was not as frail as he seemed), caught BlackHawk's foot and threw him back. The teen did a back-flip and landed in a half-crouch, half-split. He withdrew a sharpened bat-a-rang and launched himself back at Ras. They continued to battle, BlackHawk throwing kicks and punches, fake-outs and drop-kicks, while Ras simply played with the teen, fighting him off.
Speedy ran forward, unleashing arrows upon Ras. As they rained down, BlackHawk jumped away.
True to his training, Ras dodged each arrow swiftly before throwing a ninja-star at Speedy. The boy dodged just in time, the star only cutting his arm minutely. Blood formed along the wound, but Speedy shook it off as he rained down another torrent of arrows.
"Kid Flash!" Captain Atom's voice came. In a blur, the ginger stood before the blue and red-clad man, his hands against the glass. The man spoke in his country twang, "Can you vibrate through the glass?"
Kid Flash's face was that of worry and fear. "N-No. I- I just got my powers a few weeks ago-"
"Can you try?"
Kid was already visibly shaking. He nodded, licking his lips. Slowly, he took a step back.
Then, all you saw was a blurry shake of colors. Kid Flash ran at the glass, and it shattered.
The boy was flung back, over the walkway. His fingers gripped the side firmly, his legs dangling over shadows.
In this time, Wraith had joined the fray between Ras, BlackHawk, and Speedy. Ras was a master at every martial arts you could think of, and- even with BlackHawk, who had been doing 'hero-work' for years- the three were no match for him.
Robin and Sparrow looked around nervously, unsure of what they were supposed to be doing. Then, Robin's masked eyes lay on Captain Atom's container- the glass was completely gone, except for a few sharp shards that lay on the floor, but the metal restraints still held the hero back. The boy turned to Sparrow, but then saw Kid Flash dangling by his fingertips. "Spar!" he cried over the noise of fighting. "Go get Captain Atom! I've got KF!"
Sparrow nodded and darted over to the 'man'. "You got it, little miss?" he asked as Sparrow stood in front of him. She nodded and, with a grunt, jumped up, grabbing Atom's foot. He stayed stiff, allowing for her to climb up his body. Pressing a small button on the wrist of her glove, Sparrow opened up a tiny blowtorch. She attacked Atom's restraints fiercely.
Meanwhile, Robin was reaching for Kid Flash's other arm. His fingertips just barely brushed along the other boy's. "Hold on, KF!" he cried.
"THAT'S KIND OF THE IDEA, ROBIN!"
Ras unleashed about ten stars at the three boys. Wraith darted into the shadows behind Ras, behind several pipes and vents. When the stars hit, hot steam hissed out, enveloping their small area in fog.
Speedy groped around the floor for his bow, which had been knocked from his hand by the stars.
BlackHawk pressed a tiny button on the inside bottom of his mask, and heat-vision appeared in his black lenses. He saw to figures before him- Speedy, on the floor, and Ras- with a knife raised high, about to slam into Speedy's back.
"NO!" BlackHawk screamed, jumping forward.
The knife hit.
….
….
"Intruders?" the little girl asked her mother, who frowned, drawing her kimono around her body tighter. She looked down at the little girl, whose choppy black hair fell around her face gently, like feathers. Two sharp pieces of bangs flew upwards, looking like cat ears.
"Yes, darling, but it is nothing the Master cannot handle."
The little girl nodded, biting her lip. She fingered the sais at her hips, watching as her mother undid the little blonde girl's braid. Jade's sister had deep navy eyes, like their father, and she was the pride-and-joy of her mother.
Jade envied Artemis with every bone in her body.
I'll show her... the young assassin thought as she slipped out of the metal room silently.
….
….
The knife sunk into BlackHawk's gut deeply. Blood rushed out in rivers, cascading to the floor. Jason's eyes went wide beneath his mask, and he rasped for air as he grabbed Ras's hands tightly. He could only see the man's mouth in the fog, but he could see Ras's lips curl upward sadistically.
….
….
"Grab my hand!"
"I'm... TRYING!"
"WELL TRY HARDER!"
"YOU'RE ANNOYING!"
"SHUT UP!"
Robin's fingers wrapped around Kid Flash's, but that was enough for the young vigilante. With all of his aerialist strength, the child pulled backwards, using his rubber-soled shoes to give him traction on the walkway.
Kid Flash cried out as his bicep tore slightly, emitting a stinging pain throughout his whole arm. Slowly, though, he felt himself being pulled up and into the air.
But he didn't stop at the walkway.
Then, the boy realized that there were two hands under his armpits.
Looking up, Wally grinned as Captain Atom set him down on the ground. Grabbing Robin and Sparrow, Atom pulled all three in front of him. His glowing eyes were fierce as he said, "Free the others- get the healed first."
They nodded, and Robin darted off over to Green Arrow' container. The archer beamed as Robin used a glass-cutter to open up the prison. As the child stepped inside, he did something on his wrist-top computer, and the restraints opened, dropping Arrow onto the tiny glass bottom with Robin. He ruffled the boy's hair.
Robin didn't pull away.
He leaned into the gesture.
"Good job, kid," Arrow said with a grin. He jumped out of the glass, Robin following him. Across the room, Sparrow had freed both Thangarians and was helping them get the chains off their wings. Besides a bit of dried blood, all four feathery limbs were fine.
Hawkgirl, flames in her eyes, dived into the smog with a roar cry.
….
….
Two hands grabbed Ras and lifted him out of the hot air. The hands were small, petite, and strong. "HURAGH!" came the shriek, and Hawkgirl flung Ras across the room. Hawkman caught him, then slammed the old man towards the ground.
Ras turned at the last moment, rolling and standing, smiling like he was the anti-Christ. "This is getting interesting..."
Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and Captain Marvel suddenly appeared, and Ras a Ghul smirked harder. "Maybe too interesting..."
….
….
The metal doors slid open, and Jade darted in, a sai in either fist. She first laid eyes on a red-headed boy in green, leaning over a bloody body. "Hey!" she cried. "Who are you?"
The boy, his face pure rage, stood, his chest heaving. His nose crinkled up in a snarl. "Speedy. You?"
The girl- maybe thirteen- smiled seductively. "Cheshire."
Speedy unsheathed his knife and held it, blade to his forearm. "You work for the Shadows, don't you?"
Cheshire took on a stance, one foot raised in the air, both arms out. "Yup. And you work for the League, don't you?"
"Yup."
With that, the two were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
….
….
Things were not looking up for Ras.
He managed to avoid every attack that came his way, but he did not unleash any attack himself.
Why were we so scared? Arrow thought as he jumped towards Ras.
Suddenly, the old man turned and flung a sharpened needle- an inch thick and six long- straight at Green Arrow's chest. He ducked, but the needle dug itself into his shoulder, just where he had no armor. Crying out a curse word, Arrow fell to his knees.
Hawkgirl and Hawkman dived at the same time, their masked eyes looking frightening with tiny black pupils. They were both about to deliver killing punches to Ras's temple, but, at the last possible moment, the old man drew two katana from who-knows-where and slashed open either's wing. Both fell with synchronized cries of anguish.
Martian Manhunter, still weakened by the fire, stood in front of Ras. He raised his hands, but a purple glow hit his face.
"AURGH!" Manhunter fell on his side, pushing his body up with one arm. He looked up and saw a very tall, white-skinned and white-haired woman in a tight violet dress that showed too much chest and too much leg with its high-thigh-slit.
"Thalia," he growled. "Witch."
She raised a manicured hand, her pure white eyes glowing radiantly, and lifted Manhunter to the air. Snarling in her thick accent, Thalia spoke to a shaded figure behind her, "What do I do with him?"
The figure stepped out.
J'onn's eyes narrowed.
The man was bald, in a jumpsuit of sickly yellow with black straps across the chest and waist, holding a gun to his armpit and two to his thighs. Grinning, he spoke, "Finish him-"
Out of nowhere, a bright yellow-painted piece of metal flung out and slashed a long scratch from Luthor's ear to his lip. He was flung back, but didn't fall. Looking up through his blazing anger, Lex watched as the black-clad little blondie darted towards him. She gave a loud battle-cry and punched Luthor straight in the noggin, knocking him off his feet.
"Lex!" Thalia cried, dropping Manhunter.
The Martian quickly stood and darted forward, pulling Thalia into his arms. His eyes gave a sudden orange glow, and Thalia went down screaming. She hit the floor in a deep comatose state of mind.
Manhunter looked up and blinked harshly. He saw a little girl in a black cape punching and kicking Luthor silly. J'onn would have grinned it Lex didn't suddenly pull the gun.
In a blink, a flash of yellow, red, and white picked up the girl and brought her behind Manhunter. J'onn turned swiftly and saw a ten-year-old ginger holding the other child in his arms bridal-style. She blushed and quickly gave him a peck on the cheek before running off.
The boy gave a goofy grin and ran after her.
Lex suddenly shot, hitting Manhunter's back. The Martian growled at the pin-prick-like twinge of pain. Turning back to Luthor, he raised the man into the air with a thought, flinging the Glock across the room.
"You will be still now," came J'onn's thick accent.
Luthor's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he dropped to the floor.
….
….
The smog had cleared by now.
Batman gave no thanks to Wonder Woman as she undid his bounds. Instead, he bolted over to his 'son', who was bleeding out violently.
The silver hawk on Jason's uniform was now a frightening shade of red. Flash, having limped over even with his broken leg, was pushing down around the blade hilt that stuck out of BlackHawk's stomach. Blood gurgled from the teen's mouth, and he tilted his head over slightly to give a pain-filled smirk to his mentor.
"H-H-Hey, B-B-Bats..." he stuttered.
Batman's hand ran down Jason's face, gently wiping up some blood from his chin. "Hang on, 'Hawk."
BlackHawk gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Batman looked up to Flash, who was pale from his own blood-loss. "Get 'Hawk, John, Canary, and Corin out." Wonder Woman came up from behind, wincing slightly from her burns. Hal floated behind her, carting John over his left shoulder and Canary over his right.
"What can we do?"
"Help Flash," Batman grunted and stood, seemingly flying off towards the door.
Wonder Woman knelt down and picked Jason up into her arms. Flash threw an arm over the Amazonian's shoulder. "C'mon, Wondie. Let's book it."
….
….
Cheshire's sai slid straight across the cut on Speedy's arm. He swore (thank you, Oliver) and jumped back, drawing an arrow. He let it fly at Cheshire, but she kicked it out of the air. Lunging forward, the girl threw Speedy to the ground, pinning his arms next to his head. She straddled his body and bent her face down next to his, smirking. Her coal-black eyes glistened with hatred and mischief. "You're cute- if you weren't playing for the wrong side."
"You're the one that's on the wrong side!" Speedy spat.
Cheshire chuckled. "We'll see..."
She raised her sai into the air, but a sudden black blur shoved her away. Cheshire shrieked and hit her head hard against the wall, knocking her unconscious successfully. Robin stood, wiping spit from his chin, and turned to Speedy, grinning. "How's that for a rookie?"
Speedy rolled his eyes. "Let's get Batgirl and get out."
….
….
Lex sat up, groaning and rubbing his head. The only people left in the room were Green Arrow, Batman, Superman, the Hawks, who were slowly getting to their feet, the side-kicks (minus the oldest... hm...), Captain Atom, and Captain Marvel.
Standing, Luthor ignored the bloody gash on his cheek. He raised up the semi-automatic that was on his hip and aimed it at Batman, who was 'sparring' with Ras, Superman wearily standing in the background, leaning himself up against the generator.
"Bon voy auge, Batsie..." Luthor smirked and pulled the trigger-
Nothing happened.
He snarled and drew his other gun, but a high-pitched voice rang out behind him. "Uhn, uhn, uuuuuh, Lexie, boy!"
Luthor turned and saw the injured female- the red-head- standing awkwardly behind him, inches from the pitfall. She held a rope-round of bullets in either hand as she smiled. "'Ya know, you're an idiot when you're too busy sleeping to watch what your enemy's doing."
Luthor growled loudly, roaring more like it, and threw the empty guns as the girl, but two green arrows shot the metal projectiles from the sky. Two black bodies knocked Luthor over, either one pinning his arms to the floor.
It was the blondie and the black-haired boy. The black-haired boy smirked at his 'sister'. "Hey, Spar, should we?"
She shrugged, still fighting to keep Luthor down. How is she this strong? "I think we should."
They both pulled out little spray-cans from their utility belts and sprayed Luthor in the face.
"PEPPER-SPRAY!" the Twins screamed before running off.
Luthor howled in pain, but a sudden metal-plated boot kicked him out of his misery. Wraith cocked an eyebrow as the two Twins did a victory dance. Speedy was holding Batgirl in his arms, her head leaning into his chest as her face scrunched up in pain.
Wraith grabbed both kids' collars and pulled them to face him. "We still have our extra-mission."
They frowned at him, confused. He smirked. "Get Kid Flash and meet me outside the room."
….
….
Ras and Batman traded blows, Ras jumping away as Batman just barely kicked his side, or Batman ducking just enough for the old man to just clip his mask. "Bruce, you have... grunt... gotten better."
Batman growled, "I learned... grunt... from the worst... grunt... so I need practice-"
There came a familiar whining, and Batman smirked, flipping out of the way as a bright red beam fired straight at Ras. Sadly, though, the man lived up to his reputation and jumped away just as Atom's beam fired.
Captain Marvel appeared behind Ras, grabbing the old man into his arms and holding him tightly. With a grunt, Ras kicked up and back, hitting a pressure point on Marvel's knee. The hero cried out and loosened his grip just enough for the assassin to slip away. Green Arrow appeared, holding one of Speedy's arrows, and flung it like a ninja-star at Ras. The old man caught it in the air.
As Arrow's eyes widened, Ras aimed the arrow at him. Batman lunged, and Ras turned, dodging the Dark Knight and throwing the arrow at the same time. It pierced Captain Atom's arm, making light explode outwards. The soldier cried out and fell from the sky, clutching at the 'light' as he tried to keep it from 'bleeding' out of his suit. Marvel helped his fellow Captain up, and Green Arrow shouted, "GET OUT!"
Marvel nodded and, without further prying, flew away sharply, his white cape waving behind him.
Green Arrow turned back to Batman and Ras, who were again going at it- not just with kicks and punches, but also with words.
Ras smirked, seemingly unaffected by all of the blows so far, while Batman's chest and shoulders heaved up and down. He has to be a god, Arrow thought as he lurched towards Ras. "RAUGH!"
Ras grabbed Arrow's suit-front and flung him- with an unrealistic strength- towards Batman, who dodged just in time. Arrow was flung into the ground with a grunt. He sat up wearily, watching as Batman slashed at Ras with his bare hands.
Ras back-flipped away, landing in a crouch. He smirked as Batman withdrew slightly. "Getting tired, my pupil?"
"No... Just distracting you."
Ras's eyes grew wide, and a sudden bright red light threw him across the room. It burned through his robes, singing his back, and sent him into the generator. Superman limped forward, again firing his heat-vision at the generator.
It sparked and fizzed.
Quickly, Batman pulled Superman's arm over his shoulder. Green Arrow grabbed the Kryptonian's other arm, and the three ran to the door.
Batman's eyes surveyed the room. No one else was there besides Ras- Lex and Thalia were gone, as were his foster-children.
Biting back a sigh of relief, Batman reached the exit with his two cohorts just as the generator/super-computer exploded, sending parts and vents and pipes all into the air. The walkway burned and collapsed into itself, making the generator drop into the Earth.
Batman froze and looked back at the empty black. No one could have survived that...
And they left.
….
….
Speedy had chosen to take Batgirl outside to join the other heroes. He set her down on the ground next to Aquaman, who was looking rather red in the face. Flash sat on Batgirl's left, smirking at her. "We're twinkies."
She gave him a pained smile.
Captain Marvel set Captain Atom down in front of the three, the blue man scowling. "You didn't have to carry me."
Marvel rolled his chocolate eyes. "Just accept it."
Wonder Woman stepped forward, Black Canary's arm over her shoulder. The woman, her blonde hair blood-stained, let her head loll tot the side. Her mouth was open slightly, and it was apparent that she was unconscious. "Here, you can carry her," Diana snapped as she forced Canary into Marvel's arms. The man didn't seem to mind. (*wink, wink*)
When Diana saw Batgirl, she paled. The teen girl shook her head. "I'm fine, Wonder Wo-"
"Jason's hurt."
Batgirl's breath caught in her throat. Her fearful eyes looked up to the older hero. "W-What?"
Speedy looked away, rubbing his neck. Batgirl's eyes blazed. "You- You knew and you didn't tell me?" she shrieked. Barbara tried to stand, only succeeding in making her leg make a crack. Crying out, this time in pain, she fell into Aquaman's arms. The blonde stood, lifting Batgirl like she weighed a ton. Obviously, he was still dehydrated.
"We... we must get... get back," he rasped.
Wonder Woman nodded. "Batman will be here any moment-"
As if on cue, the Dark Knight appeared. He frowned at Speedy. "Where are the others?"
Speedy's eyes widened behind his mask, and he said snappily, "I'm not going to s-"
Batman was instantly holding the archer off the ground with on hand. "Where are they?"
Diana was about to step forward, but Flash grabbed her ankle. He mouthed, 'No,' gently, and Diana's mouth opened in her anger. It then snapped shut. Maybe I should just see what happens...
Speedy gulped. "You'll make them-"
"WHERE ARE THEY?"
Speedy growled and kicked his legs, knocking himself out of Batman's arms. The Dark Knight pulled himself to his full height, his being simply glowing with fury. The teen-archer licked his lips, looking down to the ground. He spoke nothing.
Green Arrow stepped forward, oblivious to the previous interactions. "The building is set to blow-"
"WHAT?" Speedy squeaked. Everyone's heads snapped to him (except for Batman, who had been giving Speedy the Daddy-Bats-Glare this whole time).
Speedy's breath came quick, and he paled, sweat rolling down his neck. "They- Wraith, Robin, Sparrow, and Kid Flash- they- they're looking for the kryptonite! They found files on it on the Watchtower, and they wanted to get it for you! I- I had to bring Batgirl out- she- she's injured and-"
Batman listened no more. He bolted back towards the building, Wonder Woman on his heels. Captain Marvel turned to go, but he suddenly realized he still had Black Canary in his arms. He was about to set her down, but Flash spoke out, "No. We need less people in there- don't worry. They'll get the kids out." It was so reasonable, that no one objected. They were all to shocked that Flash said something reasonable for once.
But, truthfully, Barry's whole being was vibrating with his nerves.
His nephew-
His nephew-
Was inside a building, trying to be a hero, when it was set to blow at any minute.
Oh, God, the speedster thought as he gently pulled Barbara to settle on his lap, oh, God, please bring him back to me...
….
….
Wraith darted down the halls, ignoring the guards he passed. Apparently, someone had been rather mad, because all of their throats were slit.
Sparrow and Robin, however, could not ignore the bodies. Sparrow's face (what you could see of it) was turning green, while Robin's was turning a funky shade of violet. Kid Flash's mind was running too fast to notice anything around him- even his companions.
They turned left and right, right and left, Wraith leading the way. He frantically kept looking down at the holographic map on his wrist-communicator to the walls before him. Floor 2... Wing C... Room... Room... Room- "Room 8-16!" he cried, kicking in the door. It flew off its hinges (Wooden... Hrm- must be an old door.) and fell inwards-
On top of a mop.
Wraith swore under his breath. They were in a broom closet.
"Where- What- How- When-" Kid Flash stammered, too fast for anyone to understand. Wraith began to shake in his boots, his face turning blue.
"No, no, no, no, no- This- this is all wrong! This- no. It should be right here- I mean- no, no, no, no, no-"
"I can help you," came a soft, cracked- yet sweet- voice.
The four turned and saw a young girl- maybe eleven- with a long, yellow braid. It fell down her back, plaited to her head with a silver flower. Her eyes were deep navy, and she wore a short, green kimono. She smiled gently at Kid Flash, taking his hand. His cheeks turned red. "Call me Ravager," she spoke softly, trying to calm them. Her eyes flashed towards Sparrow, and she smiled, white teeth in a perfect line. She held out both hands to the younger children. Robin took her hand instantly, and Sparrow followed swiftly after.
Artemis blinked at Wraith, who was scowling at her. "Why should we trust you?"
She frowned at him innocently. "I'm your only choice if you want to get what you seek, then get out- alive." When she said 'alive', she sounded like that creepy girl that sings, "They're heeeere..."
Kid Flash shivered- she was cute, but creepy.
Artemis stood there stoically, blinking.
Wraith was still suspicious. "Why isn't this map showing me the right area?"
Artemis smirked mischievously. "The Master moved the kryptonite after my sister and I found it- but he doesn't know that we again found it. What you seek is near."
There she went again- going from speaking like someone from the 21st century, to some 'ancient-knight-or-ninja-person-thingie'. Wraith swallowed sharply, then licked his lips.
Right now, he was the leader.
His masked eyes met Artemis's deep navy ones, and he whispered, "Show me."
She smiled.
….
….
Batman pounded through the hallways on the second floor, Wonder Woman on his heels. They passed the bodies, tuning them out. Batman focused only on the path before him and the three separate trackers on his wrist-computer.
They suddenly went off the map.
Batman froze, his eyes squinting as he scowled. They're in the room... They've found it...
If he wasn't so worried, he might be proud.
Wonder Woman stopped shortly behind him. "What is it?" He didn't answer, and the woman pursed her lips. He may not be one to talk, but he can work his lips...
Looking back up at the hallway before him, Batman's scowl went deeper (if that were possible). He saw a black-haired little girl, holding two sais in her white-gloved hands that rested on pink-covered hips. She pointedly frowned at him were her cocoa lips. "Who are you? Cat-man?"
He didn't give her the satisfaction.
She sneered. "My name is Jade- but you can call me Cheshire. I'm looking for my sister- and you're looking for someone, too, I suppose?"
Batman said nor did anything. Wonder Woman stiffened as she inspected the girl- her arms were bare on her short, sleeveless pink kimono. Her biceps were muscular for a child her age- thirteen, perhaps- and her bare legs were also toned well. So... she is a warrioress...
Jade chuckled. "I know where what you're looking for is. If you leave after you get it, you can have it. If I find my sister.
Batman's eyes narrowed further, and he bit the bait. "Why would you help me?"
She smiled gently, reminding Batman of a black cat. "Why not?"
And she turned swiftly, bounding off into the halls.
Reluctantly, Batman followed her, Wonder Woman, trusting his judgment, continuing on with the Dark Knight.
….
….
J'onn had managed to stop the bleeding, but not before Jason lost a good quart of blood. His face was stark white (they had removed his mask), and his cheeks seemed shrunken in. Barbara (she had removed her cowl, as well) sat next to him, her eyes full of tears. She gasped for air as she fought back sobs.
Speedy sat a good ways away, on a stump. He watched as J'onn, his eyes still glowing, continued to work on Jason.
A groan and the sound of squeaking leather announced Green Arrow's arrival. The man licked his lips, frowning. He blinked in the black night, his face going calm as he took in a deep breath. "What's on your mind, kiddo?"
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Oliver took off his mask, playing with it in his hands. Speedy knew his game- nonchalant movements to try and relax the situation.
With Roy's temper, it mostly worked.
And right now, the red-head was seething, true to his nature.
"He should be okay- according to J'onn. He lost some blood, and he won't be fighting for a long while- but he's alive."
Speedy nodded, taking in a shaky breath.
"You like her."
It wasn't a question.
"How's Canary?"
Oliver snorted, rolling his eyes. "She's conscious and talking, against my hopes. She'll be okay. Now, no more changing the subject. Do you?"
"Do I what?"
Oliver rolled his eyes, stealing Speedy's (his) hat and placing it over his messy, sweaty mop of hay. "Right. We'll chat later."
He stood and turned to walked off, but suddenly re-traced his steps. He turned and ruffled up Roy's hair, saying, "Don't touch my hats."
….
….
Artemis led them towards another wooden door. "This wing is older," she explained, reaching for the door. To everyone's surprise, it wasn't locked. "We assassins like to hide things in plain sight," she explained, yet again, and walked inside.
The whole area was older, obviously- dark oaken floors, with weaved, white walls. But there were improvements, too, like metal floor-boards and a small area of iron tiles. Upon that small area was a pedestal, where sat the glowing purple rock.
Wraith eyed Artemis. "Is it really that easy?"
She nodded. "It is that easy."
Pulling Robin and Sparrow with her, Artemis approached the rock. She crouched down to be eye-to-eye with Robin. "Richard, may I borrow your cape?"
The boy's masked eyes opened slightly. "How- you- but- how-"
She chuckled lightly. "I know things. Now, may I?"
Robin nodded, letting her undo the clasp under his chin. Wraith tensed with the girl's fingers so near his little brother's neck. But Artemis made no move to hurt Robin. She turned to Wraith, as if sensing his fear. She smiled gently. "Don't worry. I have no intentions to hurt you or Richard or Blaine or Wallace." She winked at Kid Flash, who turned furious violet shades and turned away.
Using the cape as a glove, Artemis picked up the rock and wrapped it in the fabric. She wound it up, then pulled the flower out of her hair and stuck it in the fabric to pin the make-shift bag shut. Crouching back down to Robin, she had tears in her eyes. "Richard, they will hurt me for this... They will take away all of my memories..." She blinked, then kissed Robin's forehead. Looking back to his face, she smiled weakly. "Use this flower to find me again, Richard. I look forward to meeting you and Blaine as elders."
Robin nodded shakily, slowly whimpering, "Thank you, Ravager," and Artemis stood. She walked over to Wally and raised his visor fearlessly, kissing the corner of his lips. While he turned crimson, she did the same to Wraith. Despite her being younger, Wraith still flushed slightly at the gesture. Artemis turned and kissed Blaine's forehead. "You may be almost my age," she said with a smile as she crouched slightly, "yet you are still innocent, still small, still... pure." A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek, and Blaine shook her head fiercely.
"My daddy made sure I wouldn't ever be innocent."
Artemis's face fell. "My father as well. I'm sorry..."
Blaine suddenly threw her arms around Artemis's neck. The older blonde stood the few inches that she had crouched, wrapping her arms around Blaine's waist to hug her. Wraith hissed slightly, and Artemis set Blaine down. The older's blonde hair now fell into her face, no longer plaited. Her teary irises looked over Blaine and Dick, and she cracked her lips into a smile. "Do not let anything separate you two. Your bond is strong." Standing, Artemis nodded towards the door. "Go now, Terrence. I'll buy you some time."
Terrence pulled Blaine onto his back, and Wally snatched up Dick. They ran out the door. An instant later, Terrence's head poked back into the room. He licked his lips, at a loss for words. Quickly, he mumbled, "Thanks, Ravager."
When they were gone, Artemis broke out into violent sobs. She slid down to the floor, her back on the pedestal. Looking up to the bright lights, she heard footsteps behind her. A tall, skinny woman with black hair keeled down. She pulled her daughter into her arms and spoke soothingly in Vietnamese, "I am proud of you, Artemis... And I will not let them hurt you..."
Artemis, between sobs, replied in English. "I know, Mommy... I know..."
….
….
Cheshire turned the corner and yelped, doing a back-flip to keep from running into the two masked boys. She snarled, gripping her sais tightly. Wraith pulled a bat-a-rang, brandishing it as Robin and Sparrow slid off of their respective 'rides', taking fighting stances.
Suddenly, Batman and Wonder Woman ran around the corner. "Cheshire!" Batman snapped. "These are who I'm looking for."
Cheshire's snarl stayed on her face, but she stood and put her weapons at her sides. "Go. Now," she growled.
Wonder Woman lifted Sparrow into one arm and Robin into the other. Batman gestured silently for Kid Flash and Wraith to follow the woman as she turned and darted from the building.
Suddenly, just as Kid Flash bulleted off, Cheshire drew her sai and placed it at Wraith's throat.
"Stop, Cheshire!" Batman barked.
Cheshire ignored him. "Where is my sister?" she snapped to Wraith, who gulped.
"In the room."
He need not say what room.
Cheshire withdrew and nodded, running off towards the South end.
Batman put his hand on Wraith's shoulder tersely. He made an annoyed, angry, yet quiet grunt that said, 'Are you okay?'
Wraith nodded, shrugging off the hand. "How long do we have before this place blows?" he asked as the two ran down the halls.
Batman fought the urge to smirk. "So you knew."
"I was trained by the best."
They jumped down the stairs, slowing their descents with the bannister. "Twenty seconds," Batman spoke bluntly as they ran down the main hallway.
"Is that all?" Wraith croaked.
They ran out the door, towards the jungle where they could see the other spandex-clad heroes waiting, when-
BOOOOOOOOOM!
Shrapnel and sparks flew, blowing the Dark Knight and the ghost-child forward. Terrence was fine with his uniform on, but Batman, no longer having his gloves, boots, or cape, felt the sparks burning his skin. A bit of shrapnel dug into his back, and he landed on top of Wraith protectively.
The flames died down, and Green Arrow and Captain Marvel ran forward, helping both up.
Wraith turned a frightened face towards the building. "I know they made it out- they had to have..."
Batman said nothing.
….
….
One minute earlier...
Jade ran into the room and saw her mother and sister hugging. "We have to go!" she shrieked, dragging both towards the wall. With her sai, she cut a large 'X' in the weaves. They stepped through into a large, indestructible chamber. Artemis slammed the door shut, and the room shook with the explosion from outside
Jade and Artemis both shrieked as their mother grabbed them and held them close. The room grew hot as flames licked it from the outside.
They sat there for several minutes, their bares feet and legs burning on the metal.
Then, the door re-opened. In stepped a blonde man with bright blue eyes. He wore a hockey mask, but even with it on, you could just feel his anger and scowl. From behind him stepped a man with a swollen head. It seemed like his brain was exploding from it.
"Psimon," the blonde spoke. "Relieve my daughters of their faults... We cannot have the Master hearing of it."
Psimon nodded and, before the girls' mother could act, he hand both girls next to him, holding their heads with his long claws. His eyes glowed white, and a sudden power filled either girls' minds.
"AHHHHHHH!"
….
….
All of the 'junior members' sat on the jungle floor, looking at their laps and feet and hands- anywhere but up, where all sixteen Leaguers stared them down menacingly.
Jason sat propped up against a tree. Thanks to J'onn, his wound was completely healed- besides the scar and the blood-loss. Barbara held his hand, Terrence held hers, and the chain went on from Blaine to Dick to Wally to Roy. They all looked down.
Suddenly, Batman spoke.
"What you did today was irresponsible, irrevocable, idiotic, and suicide."
"No other 'I'?" Terrence tried to joke. Blaine kicked him. "Ouch!"
Green Arrow stepped forward. "I know that you have had training, Roy, but you know better than this."
Roy felt anger boiling. At Ollie, at Dinah, at Ras, at Lex, and- at himself.
Flash, leaning on Arrow, spoke up. "Wally, you've only had your powers for a few weeks. You could have been killed, and your parents would never forgive me- not to mention your aunt- and myself."
Batman was breathing unevenly, trying to calm himself. He closed his eyes behind his mask. Then, he turned to Jason. "Don't think that because you got 'injured' I will not be as hard on you, Jason Holmes." The teen winced, as did the other Leaguers. Give him a break, Flash thought. He's still got blood-loss...
"Jason, you are the oldest and were supposed to be the most mature. I am very, very ashamed."
Batman turned to Barbara, who was squirming in her spot. J'onn had healed her leg, too, and the bullet was now in Batman's belt, ready to be sent to the lab. "Barbara Gordon, you are normally the level-headed one. I cannot believe that you would agree or assist to this suicide mission.
"Terrence Prince, you, too, should have acted more your age. I am ashamed of all three of you. Especially when you dragged Blaine and Richard into this-"
Dick snapped.
He stood sharply, his face the spitting image of anger (and of Batman). His little eyebrows were furrowed. "They didn't want us to come!" he cried out. "We made them bring us- even Jason was hesitant to let us come... at first."
"Hesitant?" Diana asked Canary, who was a bit 'drunk' and 'loopy'. She rolled her eyes.
"Bats... must read 'em the dictionary... to sleep..."
Dick wasn't done there, though. He marched straight up to Batman, seemingly unimpressed with the man's good four feet he had on the child. Dick scowled up at him and exclaimed, "We did good here! Me, Blaine, Terry, Barb, Jase- Roy and Wally, too!" The two red-heads smirked softly.
Blaine stood, coming up next to Dick. Batman tried to not be surprised. "Yeah!" she spoke loudly, crossing her arms over her chest. Dick followed suit. "We did good! We've trained for months, and we're uninjured, aren't we? Not as much as we can say for you guys-" (Oh yeah, she went there.) "-you're supposed to be the adults-"
"-The experiencedheroes!" Dick piped in.
"-And you got your butts kidnapped so that we had no choice but to come and save you!"
Everyone (even Batman by this time) stood, eyes wide, jaws dropped, at the two 'twins'. Blaine locked an arm around Dick's shoulders, and he did the same around her waist. Dick spoke firmly, "We deserve to be heroes. We've earned the right- we should have earned your respect today! But apparently not..." His voice died with the last part, his face softening an inch. Then, it firmed. "Basically, we're not gonna stop-"
Roy stood to join the kids. He put a hand on either's shoulder. "So get on board," he snapped.
The others joined, Jason a bit woozy.
Even so, though, he was able to retort to the stunned silence, "Or get out of our way."
Batman's eyes narrowed.
There was silence throughout the forest.
Finally, Flash spoke. "Well, I give 'ya fifty outta' ten point for that monologue."
Arrow shrugged. "Sixty."
Finally, Batman spoke. "You will not be doing this again."
The kids glared, and Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Batman held up a hand. "Unless we order it. Clear?"
All of the kids began to whoop with joy.
Suddenly, a bright white light appeared. In unison, Terrence, Wally, Blaine, and Dick all fell to their knees, screaming, clutching at their temples.
Flash and Batman darted forward, but were flung back by an invisible force-field.
The young heroes' shrieks filled the dense jungle air.
The light pulsated, then died out.
As quickly as it had began, it stopped.
No body moved as the four stood shakily. "Where- where are we?" Terrence asked, blinking.
"Ugh..." Wally moaned. "My head..." He looked down at his clothes, frowning and picking at the symbol. "What the-"
Dick and Blaine gasped together when they saw each others uniforms. "Are we on a mission?" Blaine squealed.
"Wait- how did we get here?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Uhm... Batman-"
"Uncle Barry?"
"WHERE ARE WE?"
Arrow, Flash, and Batman all eyed each other. "Psimon."
"Aw man!" Roy groaned. "They don't remember our awesome monologue!"
….
….
Superman and Batman stepped out of the vault. Wonder Woman slammed the ten-ton door shut, locking it tightly. She then took the key-card and turned it to dust in her fist. Smirking at the other two, she walked along side them in the Watchtower's Vault-Hall. "So... that's done-"
"And Hell begins," Batman said, almost in a groan. "Now, I have five whiny vigilantes to take on patrol."
Superman chuckled. "It could be worse-"
"Don't even joke about this, Kent."
Superman chuckled as they stepped out of the Vault-Hall. He shut the door and turned, opening his mouth to speak. Suddenly, the intercom came on, and J'onn's voice boomed, "Superman to the Bridge. I repeat, Superman to the Bridge."
The man sighed and shrugged, giving a wave to Wonder Woman and Batman. Wonder Woman waved back, while Batman snarled. Superman turned the corner, and Diana turned, too.
Right to Batman.
"Bruce..."
"Diana..."
She sighed, pulling her hair between her fingers. "About Christmas-"
Batman took off his mask, pulling her into his arms. She gasped loudly, tripping into his chest, both hands over his muscular torso. He grinned in his 'I'm-a-bachelor-millionaire' way, and Diana smirked. "Dinner at the Manor?"
"Wouldn't miss it."
YAY!
It's OVER!
Oh, you thought ONLY "Becoming Robin" was over?
No, Meet the Family, is DOOOOOOOOOOOONE!
BUUUUUT, there WILL be sequels with Blaine, Terry, and Jase, just give me a little while. I have a story in mind for Roy, Walls, and Robs, so I wanna work on that. Not to mention my contest entries... Ugh...
I know some of you will hate me for ending this, but never fear! THEY WILL RETURN!
I already have EVERYTHING planned out to explain WHY Sparrow is not there for YJ if she and Robin are 'partners' and where BG and BH and W are and everything... So... yeah.
If you love me and CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL (which will be titled "Death of the Bat") then please, do all squirrels and lephruechans a favor, and review.
here, I'll even show you where the button it!
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