Disclaimer: I do not own DC or any of its characters. I do not own the show Young Justice.
I do however own Arinna. :D
I apologize beforehand for any spelling and/or grammar errors you may find -_- Cause I'm horrible at spell checking apparently. XD
Episode 12
September 22nd
Get up! The sun is waiting!
I sat up so fast my eyes didn't even have a chance to open and the next thing I knew I was toppling out of my bed and hitting the floor with a hard thump!
"Freaking-" I sucked in a pained hiss, rolling onto my side to cradle my head in my hands. I blinked rapidly, hoping the room would stop spinning long enough for me to get a grip on reality. "Honestly." I rolled onto my stomach and pushed myself up. Plopping back down on my bed, I pressed a hand to my temple.
Why my brain insisted on giving me heart attacks, I'll never know. Or why I seem to have recurring voices going through my head? That would be nice to know too. It's like, I hear the voices, but at the same time I don't because no one is there. But I feel like they should be there, but they aren't.
... Weird.
There was a knock on the door. "Hey, log." Conner peeked his head in, "I heard a crash. You alright?"
"Yeah." I nodded to him, "Just fell out of bed."
Since the whole, Mental break down thing around a week ago, I've been getting constant check up from the team. Not that I don't mind, but I'm fine. Kind of. I mean, I'm not fine yeah, but I'm better.
I probably wont be fine for a while, but that is okay, I'm getting by. Or getting worse. Now I randomly hear voices that aren't there. I mainly here them when I close my eyes for long periods of time. I wonder if this is a weird after effect of amnesia or something?
"Something on your mind?" Conner sat next to me. I shrugged.
"Not really. Same old same old."
"You in any pain? Head aches?"
"I'm fine." I smiled at him, "Thanks for worrying. I think I'll be better with some breakfast."
Nodding, Conner left so I could change, gently closing the door behind him. Watching him leave, I moved to my closet. My neck is sore- probably slept on it wrong. Which was not a good sign first thing in the morning. This was going to be a weird day, I'm sure of that.
So I have to turn this into a good day as fast as possible! Lets start by parting my hair in a weird and wacky way, just to spice things up. Taking the comb I got to work. When I parted my hair in a weird and wacky enough way to be satisfied, I grinned and switched into my outfit for the day.
There would be no missions today, so maybe I could hang out with the team? Get my mind off of everything for a bit?
Nodding to myself, I ran out of the room to start a new day.
The sun was waiting after all.
Pausing in the hall, I frowned at my feet.
…The sun is waiting. What an odd phrase.
Rubbing my temple I entered the kitchen quietly. M'gann was already inside and making breakfast. Smiling at her, I waved. "Morning M'gann."
"Morning Arinna." She smiled over her shoulder, "How are you feeling today?" it was strange seeing M'gann up before me since I'm usually the one up first. I must have really slept in.
"A lot better, thanks." I sat at the table without another word. Placing breakfast together, M'gann and me sat in silence. She was staring at me, a worried look shinning through her eyes. I gave her a small smile, hoping to silently assure her that I was okay.
"So… when do you think we'll get our next mission?" I inquired.
She shrugged, "I don't know. It's been a while since we last took one as a full team. At least three weeks." She rubbed her chin, "Kind of glad for that though since school started. Didn't realize how difficult school would be."
"Oh yeah. Math is killing me." I groaned. "I don't understand it at all. If you ever need help though, Conner can help you. He is super smart with everything."
She smiled to herself, "I'll definitely do that."
"…" I stared at her. Her smile was… strange. As if there was a little secret hidden behind it. She was keeping something from me and it had something to do with Conner. "…How are Conner and you lately?" I inquired slyly.
"Huh?" she blushed. "W-What do you mean?"
I shrugged casually, "Something just seems… different about you two since you came back from that mission." I wasn't going to bring up the fact that Conner told me they had kissed during that mission and was going to wait till she wanted to tell me.
"Oh well…" she cleared her throat. "I guess." Grabbing her plates she flew to the sink, washed them, then placed them in the dishwasher, "Well, I got training to do! Bye!" she said in a hurry before disappearing down the hall.
Yeah, they were totally dating.
Chuckling, I finished my food at a much slower pace and placed my dishes in the sink.
"Good to see you are finally up." Conner said behind me.
"I'm sleep walking actually." I said.
"They say you should never try to wake a sleep walker." Conner announced, reaching for me. "Hey. Wake up." He shook my shoulders. I laughed and hit his hands away.
"Yet you do it anyway."
"Of course." He was putting on his jacket.
"Going somewhere?" I inquired.
"M'gann asked if I could help with groceries." He said.
"Ooh." I nodded. "So, you two are going alone then?"
He paused, glancing around. "Yeah." He said slowly. I was grinning.
"Okay." I giggled. He flicked my forehead.
"Don't grin like that. Society will think you are weird." He began walking down the hall.
"The bounds of society shall never bring down my spirit~" I called to him. "It's social acceptance will crumble at my fingers tips~"
"You need to get a life Arinna~
"Love you too~ Have fun with M'gann!" I wiggled my fingers at him as he shuffled down the hall, quick to get away.
"Shut up~" He grumbled.
Smiling, I grabbed myself some water and moved to the couch. Homework was done. Room was clean. And missions were slim. Guess I should try and relax for a bit until training later today. I was dreading training later.
For… personal reasons. I'm not explaining why so don't ask.
Curling myself into a comfortable position I grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. Not finding anything I was overly interested in, I paused on the movie channel.
I ended up watching some romantic comedy called Princess Bride. I liked the story of it, and all the characters were so funny.
"Arinna." Fingers grazed against my shoulder. It was Kaldur. "Sorry." He apologized when I jumped, "I did not mean to startle you."
"Oh no…" I waved it off, "It's okay. Nice to see you."
He smiled and nodded. Glancing at the screen, he motioned to the couch. "May I sit down?"
Struggling to find the words I nodded meekly, motioning for him to take a seat. "Have you seen this movie?" I asked.
"I never finished it." He said. "I got just a little farther than this then stopped. A mission suddenly required my attention. Have you?"
"First time I've seen it."
He nodded and looked back at the screen. I followed his lead.
Something has been happening lately. It's kind of upsetting me. I've noticed that recently, I can't seem to talk to Kaldur like I use to. We aren't angry with each other or upset we just… can't seem to talk anymore. I'm so worried suddenly I'll say something stupid that I don't say anything at all. Which is weird cause I never have a problem speaking my mind or thoughts to everyone else.
So instead of trying to confront this problem, I turned away from it and focused back on the movie. Watching it closely, it wasn't long till I was completely caught up in it, hoping that Westley would make it in time to save Buttercup.
Currently, the movie was in the house of Miracle Max.
"Well I'll ask him." Miracle Max said.
"He's dead, he can't talk." Inigo said.
"Ooh-ho-ho. Look who knows so much." Max whistled sarcastically, "Well it just so happens that your friend here is only mostly dead. There is a big difference between mostly dead and all dead."
I chuckled, hugging the pillow I was holding. "How does that even work?"
A slight chuckle resonated from Kaldur's chest. It was only there that I was really grateful that Kaldur had not been there for the beginning of the movie. I made so many comments during that time it was honestly just embarrassing. Plus all that romance nonsense at the beginning. How awkward would that have been to sit through with Kaldur sitting just a few inches away.
Speaking of awkwardness, it got to the part in the movie where the romantic music started at Buttercup and Westley were riding white horses together and leaning in for the kiss.
"…" Neither of us spoke as they kissed. Why did I want to watch this movie again?! I mean, I would change the channel but I didn't want Kaldur to think I was so immature that I couldn't even handle watching an innocent little kiss. But there was no way I was gonna say anything cause my sanity could not take that and I would just say something stupid like-
"Oh my gosh, that was an amazing. I loved all of it! Especially the kiss scenes. They were so emotional."
Why would you say this?! This is probably some chick flick or something! He might not have liked it! You fool!
"Yes." He agreed.
…
"I," I said, thinking that the rest of the sentence would magically follow after that first word. It didn't. Finally I said, "Cool," like some big loser who can't even have a decent and mature conversation. Honestly.
"Do you know where the others are?" Kaldur inquired after the end of the credits.
"Conner and M'gann went to get groceries. I don't really know where anyone else is." I said.
"I see." He nodded. Turning to me, his gaze met my own. "How are you feeling today?"
A similar question I was asked often since the mental breakdown but this time, the question felt different. "Fine." I answered.
"No pain?"
"Confused more like. Still trying to figure out what caused the whole thing in the first place."
"Perhaps that is better left a mystery." He offered gently, "After all, you do not wish to trigger the same events a second time."
I nodded. "I guess that makes sense, yeah." I put on a smile, "I'm trying not to think about it too much."
Its like I got it all planned out, but never follow through. I don't mind not remembering, I would tell the others. I believed those words myself. But the second something about my past comes up, that is all I can think about. I can't seem to be able to make up my mind. "It's not really working."
"That is understandable Arinna." Kaldur insisted, patting my shoulder comfortingly. "It is only natural that you will always be curious about your past. Anyone in your position would be."
What exactly is my position I wonder? I mean, what other person out there is on a secret team of young heroes, has mysterious powers, and is trying to somehow sort out their amnesia filled past while pretending to be a normal high school student? My life sounds so messed up at times.
"Yeah." I agreed quietly. Shifting my gaze towards him, I could see he was looking towards the wall. His expression was distant. Similar to how it was the day he returned to Atlantis. Something was troubling him just like it was that day.
I felt ashamed I hadn't noticed it earlier.
"Kaldur?" I asked. There was no reply. "Kaldur." I said a little louder. He didn't respond immediately and slowly turned his head to acknowledge that he heard me. "Are you aright?"
He raised an eye brow. "What?" he said slowly.
"Something wrong? You look distracted."
"No-" he cut himself off. Staring at me, he let out a little breath, looking confused. "How did you know?"
I shrugged, "I dunno. I just felt like something was wrong. You just seemed distracted. And you are usually super focused."
He almost laughed, "It amazes me how you always seem to be able to tell what is on my mind Arinna." He leaned into the couch, "You are right. There is something troubling me. However, it is nothing that I can fix."
"Why?" I frowned. "Are you still thinking about Atlantis?"
"Well, I am always thinking of Atlantis. It is my home and I miss it." He agreed carefully, "But my thoughts are of another matter."
"Tula?" I said the name before I could stop himself. Kaldur visibly flinched. I was spot on, and I didn't like it.
"Yes." He said sadly. "When I left, I told you of my feelings for her."
"Yeah you did." I nodded.
"I also told you it was not to be when I returned." He looked away.
"I remember that yes." I also remember that she broke your heart. I remember how confused I am at that. I wonder what kind of person Garth is. He must have been amazing for Tula to pick him, because Kaldur is wonderful too. I also wonder what kind of person Tula is and if she knows how much she hurt Kaldur. I hope she is a kind person. I hope…. Well, I don't know what I hope for anymore than that.
"But even so, I still think of her. I think of what might have been if I stayed in Atlantis or if Garth had been the one to become Aqua Lad instead of I. I regret… I regret never stating my true feelings. My thoughts are clouded with regret. I do not know what I mourn more. The loss of love, or of… opportunity." He said sorrowfully. I sat quietly and listened to him speak. I hadn't expected the conversation to suddenly take a turn like this, but I wasn't going to stop it anytime soon. If Kaldur wanted to get this off his chest, then I was all ears.
For a while he talked of Tula. Talked about how they met in school and started to learn water sorcery together along with Kaldur's childhood friend Garth. How they were as close as brothers and even now, after Garth had swept the woman he loves away, Kaldur could not bring himself to hate him. How he hated himself for wanting them to be happy together, but also feeling a gut wrenching jealousy all at the same time. He was so torn. Yet so open to tell me all of this. He trusted me with his darkest and most revealing thoughts and emotions.
It was so startlingly, brilliantly… human. Kaldur, at his core, wasn't perfect, but he was so shockingly, distressingly good. Kind and gentle and moral and right in every aspect that made Kaldur, well, Kaldur.
"I apologize for throwing all of this at your Arinna. This should not be your problem to have." He lowered his head.
"No." I said quickly, "It is okay Kaldur. You are always there for me and I would be honored to be there for you." I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Please don't keep all of this to yourself. I want to be there for you when you need me."
"I truly appreciate that," he says with a small smile. "Thank you for listening."
"Do you-" I paused, "Feel better?"
"In a way. My heart still aches but… I believe it will be okay. Eventually."
"It will. One day." I said. It wasn't till after I spoke that I began to wonder if that would really happen. "And we'll always be there for you." I said as if that was the greatest silver lining in the world. Which it totally was. "You got Wally, Robin, Artemis, M'gann, Conner and me. I dunno if that is a cool thing to have or what not, but I like it. And we all like you Kaldur. A lot." I beamed, "So it's okay to be sad about what happened. You don't need to hide it. If you do that we wont hid how we feel to you."
"Thank you Arinna." He took a hold of my hand and squeezed it. "That comforts me more than you will ever know."
Believe me Kaldur, I know.
Glancing at our hands, he smiled, "You always seem to know exactly what to say."
Thinking of what Kaldur once said to me, I grinned, "I simply speak what in turn would comfort me. In truth I am rather selfish." I said as a matter of factly, copying the very words he said to me a week ago.
Blinking a few times, recalling the memory, Kaldur scoffed a laugh, "That is not a bad thing. We are all a little selfish." He mimicked me as well.
"Yes, there is truth in that young grass hopper." I caressed my invisible beard.
Chuckling, Kaldur rose to his feet. "We should head to training." He said, glancing at the clock. I slouched into my spot, my expression growing grim.
"Do we have to?" I whined
"How strange," he titled his head, "You are usually so excited for training. Did something happen?" he inquired.
"I wouldn't say something happened. More like something was added." I shivered. Wally added something to the training room. And I was not willing to go in there if that thing would be watching me.
Confused to what I was talking about, Kaldur frowned, "I do not understand." He admitted.
"Mannequins Kaldur." I said with horror, "He put a mannequin in the training area."
Kaldur stood there for a few seconds, blinking. "…A mannequin." He repeated.
"Yes."
"And this bothers you?"
"It's not a real person Kaldur!" I said, "It just stands there with a fake smile as it stares into the depths of your soul!"
I think he was trying to stop himself from laughing. I know this because his upper lip curled and he turned away covering his mouth, "I-I see."
"Are you laughing at me?" I frowned.
"N-No…" he trailed off, his shoulders shaking.
"You are! Aren't you?! This is a serious business Kaldur." I leapt off the couch to run at him. He booked it for the other end of the room, racing into the hall. Quickly following after him, I dove for him. Latching myself to his back, I reached for his hands to remove them from his face, "Let me see your face!" I demanded.
"A unwise decision." He snorted. He literally snorted. I would say it was cute if I wasn't angry.
"Kaldur!" I wailed as we tripped into the training area. Had anyone been in the training area at the time it sure would have been a strange sight to see the both of us roll into the room, toppling over one another. "Remove your hands!"
He kept a tight grip around his face, shielding his eyes and mouth. His shoulders continuously moved up and down violently, a chuckle escaping from time to time as he struggled to control his laughter.
"Hah!" I cheered as I ripped Kaldur's hands from his face. His almost nerdy grin caught me off guard. Compared to his usual calm and collected demeanor, this was a foreign change in facial expressions.
Quick me! Say something before this gets awkward!
"N-Not laughing huh?" I stammered, "That sounds like laughing to me. And look! Look at you! You are grinning like there is no tomorrow!"
He turned his head, covering his mouth with his hand. "I disagree." He snickered.
"Oh my gosh I disagree with your disagree- GAHAH!" As I lifted my head, I shrieked and flew back, tripping over Kaldur's elbow and rolling over him. Eyes widening in surprise, he lifted himself up to stare at me. "Mannequin!" I pointed to it. It was standing just a bit away, turned towards us, staring.
A smirk growing on his face, Kaldur tilted his head, "There is nothing to fear from a mannequin Arinna."
"Disagree."
"Disagree with your disagree." He countered.
I frowned, "Very sneaky Kaldur. Turning my own words against me. Uncool." I poked him. Chuckling, he rose to his feet and helped me up.
I refused to train if the mannequin was in the room. And I refused to let Kaldur train unless he removed the mannequin, so after a very long debate, he finally moved to mannequin into the closet.
After that we trained for a good hour. M'gann and Conner came back another hour later from grocery shopping.
"How did the grocery shopping go?" I inquired with a sly smirk. M'gann blushed.
"G-Good." She stammered.
I nodded. "So uh… where are they?"
"Huh?" she blinked.
"The groceries."
Her face flushed a crimson color as she said, "O-Oh Conner already put them away."
"That is good. Cause y'know, Wally ate all our food yesterday, and the fridge was empty." I moved towards the kitchen and the fridge. "So if I open this, I'll find a fridge full of food, right?"
"…Yup." She gulped.
I slowly reached for the handle, my gaze never leaving M'gann's. She was sweating nervously, giving me a grim smile.
"…" I smirked at her. Giving the fridge door a tug, M'gann tackled me before I could take a full look into the EMPTY fridge.
"AGAH!" I shrieked as we tumbled to the floor.
"O-Okay!" she shrieked. "I admit! We didn't go grocery shopping!" she wailed.
We rolled on the floor for a bit before I manage to yell, "Called it! You two were off smoochin' somewhere, weren't yeah! I bet you were on a date!"
"Arinna!" M'gann shrieked. "Not so loud!"
0000-Later-0000
"Hey Red Tornado. What does abhorrent mean?" I inquired.
"To inspire disgust and loathing." He said automatically. "Could you not just look this up in a dictionary Arinna?"
"I prefer to ask you. I feel like I learn the word better when you tell me about it." I chuckled.
"I do not understand the difference in the explanation."
"You are an actual person." I explained.
"I am no actual person Arinna. I am a robot." He said simply.
"Well…" I frowned. "To me you are a real person. I mean, sure you don't have a full understanding of emotions, but you do have morals and such, right? You know what is good and wrong, and you choose the good. So I wanna say that is a pretty good start to being a real person."
Red Tornado did not reply instantly and seemed to be considering my words. "I see." He said after a few minutes. I chuckled.
"So what are you gonna do today?"
"I have agreed to cover Green Arrow's monitoring duty on the watch tower tonight. He had a hot date tonight." He explained.
"Ooh! Fun!' I squealed. "Well, have fun at that."
He looked at me, as if the reply to my comment should be fun.
"…" I couldn't think of anything to correct myself. '… Be diligent?"
"Indeed." He turned to leave.
"Nailed it." I cheered at my smartness.
"Hey Arinna!" Wally shot next to me, making my hair fly.
"Hi Wally." I waved. I walked with him through the cave for a while, talking about his latest break through in food.
"You put banana in milk, but a little sugar, and today! Banana cereal. Oh, but you gotta cut up the bananas first." He explained.
"And that works?" I gasped.
"Sure does." He paused. "Oh hey!" he looked across the hanger at M'gann and Conner, who were staring at him with wide eyes and were just a little too close to each other. They were both looking from Wally to Sphere in shock.
"Y'know, you two sure do spend a lot of time on Conner's bike." Wally noted, "Obviously you need the Wall-man's expert help." The two glanced at each other, back Sphere, then smiled, patting Sphere as if thanking him for unknown reasons.
….They were totally just kissing and Sphere stopped them just in time not to get caught.
I will bet 1 buck on it.
Or uh…. Is it 1 hundred bucks? A thousand? Million? I really don't understand money. Which one is greater again?
…I dunno.
Anyway, we got down to fixing Conner's bike. Wally would explain to me how each gear worked, and I tried to follow, and ended up just taking a billion notes to understand and figure out later.
"And that is how you put on a new tire to a motorcycle." Wally explained proudly. Writing his last words, I nodded, closing my note book.
"So, is it kind of the same process for cars?" I inquired. "So if the Arinna mobile needs a new tire I can just do that?"
"More or less." He shrugged. "But there are a few things that I should fix here." He frowned at the bike.
"Better not scratch it Wally." Conner threatened.
"Dude, I'll be careful." He said with a grin. Grabbing the wrench he got to work. "Dork Wrench." He said to me. Realizing he wanted me to pass him a wrench, I looked to the pile of tools.
"Uh…." I frowned. "This one?" I held up one of the tools.
"That's a hammer Arinna." M'gann giggled. Using her powers, she lifted one of the tools from the pile and had it float over to Wally.
"Thank you green cheeks." He winked at her. I watched curiously over Wally's shoulder, not even noticing when Kaldur approached us from behind.
"I have been meaning to ask-" he announced, catching all of our attention, "Any problem juggling school work with your responsibilities here?"
"Nope." Conner said bluntly
"Juggling is just one of my many talents." Wally said proudly.
"Oh my gosh really?" I gawked at him.
Beaming, he grabbed the wrenches he was holding and started to juggle them. With a cheer I clapped at the sight.
"Cheerleading practice has presented a challenge, oh but my first loyalty is always to the team." She paused, "This team. Not the Bumblebees."
"With all the free time we have I am fine." I admitted. "But if we suddenly went on missions every single day, I would have problems." I forced my self to look away from Wally's spectacular juggling skills. "But I'm sure I'll manage even if that happens." I said. I've been kind of avoiding school work for the past week however due to that mental thing that happened. Don't know if that is what caused it, but I was thinking of school when it happened, so I am putting it to blame
"Artemis starts school today." Kaldur announced, "Do you think she will have trouble maintaining her loyalties?" he said slowly. It was an odd question. Or maybe it was just Kaldur's tone that was odd. As if he was trying to be subtle in asking whether or not we trusted Artemis or not. Or I'm just reading way too deep into his words. Whatever.
"Nah she'll be alright." Wally waved it off, stopping his juggling to put down the wrenches, "I mean, how much more hostile and annoying can she-"
BAAM!
I was flying. And freaking out. Lots of panicking.
Or uh… falling? I know for sure I was definitely hitting a wall. That hurt. That hurt a lot.
Not sure what just happened, I stumbled to my feet to get a look around. I barely had time to blink before some weird wave of water hit me. Just a random wave. in our very un-ocean-like cave. Cause that is a thing apparently.
Struggling to catch my breath as the wave died down a bit, a third wave struck. I was slammed into the wall again, this time as an odd angle. I heard a sickening pop from my shoulder before it was enveloped in a burning sensation of pain.
Letting out a cry, I faintly heard the call my name. From who, I don't know. It was hard to hear with the ringing in my ears.
As a fourth wave crashed against my back, my shield activated itself, surrounding me just in time to stop myself from being flung against the steps. Rolling a bit, Flames encircled my shield, but were unable to get in. Just some… random flames. Whatever.
I was grateful for the second to grab my shoulder and try to figure out which way was up and down. Grabbing it was not a good idea, but it wasn't like I could think of anything better.
"Gah-" I whipped my hand away the second my shoulder stung with a foreign pain. Hissing, I forced myself to sit up and get a good look at what was going on. Flames continued to encircle me, trapping my every movement. I was positive if I lowered it for even one second, our enemy would be eating fresh barbequed Arinna tonight.
Suddenly, the flames stopped, which was suspicious.
It was only then that I was able to get a good look at our attackers. It was… a robot? A red robot. I would have thought it was Red Tornado if it wasn't for the yellow marking on his chest plate and missing blue cape. Plus, the body structure of the robot was different from Tornado.
But the similarities were astounding. Almost like I was looking at Red Tornado's… sibling.
"Who…"
"M'GANN!" Conner's cry cut me off. Whipping my head around, I was horrified at the sight of M'gann collapsing within a prison constructed of flames. Kaldur, who was also trapped within this prison, barely caught her in time, his breathing heavy. He glared ahead. I followed his gaze to a second robot. This one was female, I could tell from the build. She seemed to be controlling the flames, while the one near me was probably the one who controlled the water attacks.
Water, Fire, Air… Did all Red robots control some sort of element? All we needed was an earth robot and we'd be set.
Oh but uh… we don't actually need one of those right now if all they are gonna do is attack us. I'm good with what we have. Well that isn't exactly true, I would love it if Red Tornado showed up at this point. He could save the day.
"Arinna keep your shield up!" I could hear Conner's voice, but I just couldn't see him. I think it was coming from the platform below. Peeking over it I could see that both Conner and Wally were down there. They seemed to be stuck in some metallic rock.
The female robot moved closer to my shield. She slammed her fist against it. I could feel the vibrations of the attack, but overall it did no damage to my shield. Sure did scare the heck out of me though. Staring at it, as if trying to calculate how to get inside, she instead turned her gaze to Wally and Conner.
They narrowed theirs eyes.
"What are you starin' at?!" Wally demanded. The robot lifted it's hand. Wally paled. "Uh… never mind." He squeaked. Fires erupted from her hands towards the two. I was positive that Conner would have been fine, but definitely not Wally! He would burn alive!
"No!" I screamed, extending out my hand.
It was only then that I learned something about my shield. I don't know if it will change the more I gain control of it, but at the moment, I can only make one shield appear at a time. So if I have it up, it will have to go down if I want it to appear somewhere else.
The Robots were hoping for that. It must have been some wild guess on their part, but it was enough for them to try at least.
In my desperation to save my friends, I held out my hand for my shield to summon it around Wally and Conner. In those seconds of keeping the fire at bay, the shield around myself disappeared.
Not a good position to be, especially if I am kneeling right next to two killer robots.
Metallic fingers gripped the back of my skull. I barely had time to gasp before I my forehead was slammed roughly into the cement.
"Arinna!"
A white flash shot over my eyes, then nothing.
-000000-0000000-
I awoke to the sounds of yelling. A lot of yelling.
It hurt my head to hear all this noise. What happened? The robots… that's right, they knocked me out. Can I go one mission without having some sort of brain trauma please?
I know who I am at least, so it's not a third wave of amnesia. That is always a good thing.
Turning my head to squint at my surroundings I realized I wasn't able to move. I was being held to the ground by some sort of bar that was indented into the ground, keeping me in place. Wiggling a bit against it, I forced myself to stay still, remembering that I may not be out of the fire yet.
…Fire. Haha. Bad joke, I apologize.
Slowly turning my head, I couldn't instantly spot the robots. But I could hear the sound of their attacks. They were fighting someone.
"Are you guys okay?" That was Robin!
"Forget us!" Conner was yelling. They must be down below the stairs where I couldn't see them. "Help M'gann!"
"Aqua Lad! Is she-" Artemis was here too. They must have arrived a little while ago and were trying to free us… while avoiding death from water and fire. Go team go!
Forcing my head to turn to the fire cage not to far away, I could see M'gann leaning into Kaldur's arms, her eyes closed and her breathing shallow.
"M'g…ann." I stuttered.
"She is unconscious." Kaldur mumbled, his voice hoarse. Sweat was pooling from his forehead, his eyes looking heavy. "I am afraid she-" he paused, "We, will not survive much longer." He corrected.
"Arinna! What about Arinna!" Wally called. Kaldur's eyes locked onto me. I blinked hazily at me.
"She is conscious!" he called. "But-"
Something wet trickled down the side of my face when I turned to look at him. I was bleeding from my forehead when my head hit the ground. Y'know, I wonder if I'm ever gonna get my memories back if I keep getting head injuries like this. Maybe this is just a thing. Maybe I'm prone to getting concussions and all of them just kept building to the point where I got enough brain damage to ruin my memory forever?
Sounds like a thing.
The conversation was cut short when Miss Female Robot reappeared, attacking Robin and Artemis. They were chased around the hanger bay for a few seconds before they disappeared back into the water, most likely using a vent so escape to a different part of the cave.
"Six Minutes." The male robot's voice echoed. It sounded sickeningly similar to Red Tornado's. I really didn't like it.
I wonder what that count down was for anyway….
The Robots circled the room, staring down at us all with expressionless, yet cold gazes. The seconds seem to draw out endlessly, counting down to an unknown end.
"Four Minutes."
"Hey!" Wally called His voice startled me. "Red Tomato! Who is your Girl friend? Red Onion?"
The Robots turned to look at him.
"Yeah." Conner agreed. "And by the way, worst deathtrap ever! We can escape anytime we want!"
…We can? Then why aren't we doing it?! What were those two doing? I don't think I can. I mean, this bar is held down pretty good, and there is no way I can even attempt to lift it with how my shoulder is.
"I can vibrate my molecules out of here before your binary brains can count to two." Wally snorted. I thought he couldn't do that though or else it gave him a nosebleed.
"And you can't drown a Kryptonian dumb bots. We don't breath air!" Conner said. Now that is a lie beyond lies.
Wally gave the most fake laugh I'd ever heard, "And Miss Martian? I can't believe you are buying her act!"
"Yeah. Y'know how hot it gets in the caves of mars?" Uh, they get pretty cold actually, "That cage is just making her homesick!"
"Duh!" Wally cackled.
"ROBIN LOOK OUT!" I jumped, which really hurt my shoulder, at Artemis' scream. Artemis?
Whipping my head to the side, I was horrified at the sight of Robin standing on the top of the cave energy generator just before a wave of water slammed into him. I understood now. Wally and Conner were distracting the Red's so Robin could do whatever he was doing. But-
"Robin!" I called as he tossed and turned inside the wave, struggling to find air. It only took seconds before his body fell limp and his body was dropped just a bit away from mine. "Robin! Robin!" I screamed, barely noticing the female robot attacking Artemis on the other side of the room. She must have escaped however because the count down was still doing.
Panic began to well in my chest. We weren't going to make it out of this. There wasn't any time. And even if I didn't know for sure what would happen at the end of that timer, I had a good idea. Especially after Kaldur collapsed within the fire cage, barely able to breath from the intense heat which only got stronger with each passing minute.
We were going to die.
"One Minute."
The elevator door leading into the hanger bay opened and Artemis stepped inside. "I surrender." She called weakly. "Stop the clock."
The robots turned to her, moving closer. One of them extended out his hand, wanting to confiscate her weapon. She stared at his red hand dully, glancing at Robin then to me. I blinked rapidly at her.
No Artemis don't. You still have a chance to escape! Get out of here!
She smiled at me. Sucking in a breath, I watched in awe as she jumped up, using the Red Robot's hand as leverage to shot herself in the air. Flipping, she grabbed a hidden arrow from her quiver, aiming towards the main generator that Robin was messing with.
As the arrow hit it's mark, the robots twitched violently, as if they were short circuited. With a hard thump, they fell to the ground, the glow in their eyes disappearing, along with their powers. Oh, Robin was making a MEP! Or uh… EPM? EMP…. One of those. I like MEP better.
The fire cage around M'gann and Kaldur fell, as the water below that had attempted to drown Wally and Conner subsided back to where it originally was.
It was over. I don't know how Artemis and Robin managed it, but it was over. They were both so cool!
"Kaldur!" Conner called up to us. "How's M'gann?"
"She breaths!" he gasped out. "I believe she will recover. What of Robin?" he turned to him. Artemis made a break for him. Dropping to her knees, her eyes wide with fear at his unmoving state, she gently lowered her hands to his chest. He cough the second she touched him, hacking water up violently.
"He's-" a smile of relief broke against her face. "He's breathing too."
Gasping a bit, letting the air sink back into his lungs, Robin turned his head to Artemis. "Way to… get traught." He mumbled. Another Robin word I won't understand. I'm assuming it's off of distraught, but who knows.
Falling back, Artemis sighed in relief. "Thank goodness…" flipping back to her stomach, she jumped up and ran to me. "Arinna? Arinna are you alright?"
"More or less." I winced. "Way to go."
She smiled at me, gently reaching down to brush my bangs out of my face to examine my head injury. "…Head injuries are just your thing, aren't they?"
"Apparently." I sighed. "Reminds me of last week when you also found me on the floor with head problems."
She snorted. "Lets try to not make this a normal thing."
"Agreed."
A while later, after Kaldur was able to get some water back into his system, Artemis and him helped yank the bar out of the ground to free me. We were all coming back to it now, even M'gann and were able to regroup back down to Wally and Conner. It would be hard to get them out of their metallic bindings, but Robin said we could figure it out.
It was only then that they were able to explain everything that happened. How when Robin and Artemis arrived, the robots gave them a 10 minute timer to surrender before we were all killed. I woke up during the middle of it after having been knocked out.
"Figured my only chance was to pretend to drown before I actually did." Robin explained, his voice sounding strained from exhaustion. "Blacked out though."
"M'gann." Conner was barely able to extend his hand out to her.
"I'll be fine." She said with a weak smile, taking his hand. He nodded.
"Arinna."
"Head hurts, but that isn't anything new." I held some cloth up to my forehead to stop it from bleeding any further only to wince, "Oh and my shoulder hurts but… I'm okay." I nodded.
"Looks dislocated." Wally frowned. "We're gonna have to put it back into place."
"Sounds painful." I whimpered.
"It will be." Artemis nodded, staring down at the strange machine she grabbed from one of the others rooms. It was apparently suppose to be strong enough to cut Conner and Wally free.
"Will you stop playing with that thing and cut us free already!" Wally demanded.
"It's not working genius." Artemis scowled at him. "EMP's shut down all machines, remember?"
…I still like MEP better.
"All machines present at the time." A familiar voice spoke up. We flinched, whipping around to the entrance of the cave. It was Red tornado!
"What has occurred?" he inquired.
"A little visit from your… family." Robin explained.
"Your extremely nasty family." Artemis corrected.
"I was not aware I had relations." Red Tornado said.
"Where have you been?" Conner demanded.
"Monitor duty on the Watch Tower. When it became clear that cave communications were down I attempted to investigate, but your Zata tubes were also nonfunctional. I transported to providence and proceeded here." He explained as he moved to the two other robots, kneeling down to get a better look at them. He paused when Sphere, who had been slammed and indented into the wall behind him, forced it self out and rolled to Conner.
"Hey boy." He said to it.
Artemis shrieked when the machine she was holding suddenly activated. She paled.
"The pulse has worn off!" Wally and Robin gasped.
Red Tornado was still kneeled next to his siblings, reaching out to barely touch on of them. As their fingers connected, his eyes suddenly blinked a dark red. I felt something bad was coming from this.
Turning around, Red Tornado turned to us, lifting his arm. The air around us began to move violently. I was going to ask him what he was doing, but found suddenly that I couldn't breath.
I panicked. The thought only occurred to me later that I could have summoned my shield to stop this, but I was in too much shock. Why was he doing this!? Wasn't he our friend!
Why-
My vision blurred from lack of air.
Why… Red Tornado?
I hit the ground. I was so lucky I didn't land on my bad shoulder.
This had to be the worse day ever.
Probably.
I dunno. I have too many bad and good days to keep track of anymore.
-0000-00000-
"Why do we live?"
"That sure is a weird question Arinna. That is like asking why we breath air." There was a laugh.
"Why do we breath air too?"
"Cause we need to. And we live because… well, we just do. You shouldn't question why you are here Arinna. Just question what you can do with the time you are given while here. That's what makes living so much fun."
"But what if I don't know what to do."
"Then I guess… you go looking for what you can do. The world is filled with endless possibilities. Do you understand, Arinna?"
…Arinna….
Arinna!
"Arinna!?" Black Canary was looming over me, worry pooling through her eyes. "Arinna can you hear me?"
I didn't react at first. My brain was still caught up with whatever was going on in my head right now. Unfamiliar voices and questions. Realizing I would need to return to reality eventually, I forced my eyes open.
Groaning as the light stung my eyes, I lifted my hand to cover my face. It was only then that I recalled my dislocated shoulder and yelled in pain.
"Don't move." Black Canary grabbed my hand and lowered it back to the ground. "You're okay now." She turned her head. "She's okay." She helped me to my feet.
I squinted at the others. A few of the Justice League members were here. They must have just found us unconscious. Conner and Wally were still stuck in that weird metallic rock and were currently being cut out by Flash and Captain Atom. M'gann was on the floor with her uncle, Kaldur was talking with Aqua Man and constantly looking towards me (I gave him a nod), and Artemis was being helped up by Super man.
"What happened here?" he demanded.
"What happened?" Artemis snapped at him. "The Red's happened! Tornado and his-" she froze. "Wait-" she looked around wildly. "Where are they?"
"Gone." Robin grumbled, standing at the side of Bat Man, who had a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "All three of them. Gone."
Red Tornado was gone? So then he really… he really did attack us. But… why? None of this made sense! Why would he-
"Arinna. How long has this been like this?" Black Canary pointed to my shoulder. I shrugged.
"I-I dunno.'
"We have to get it back into place as soon as possible." She said. "Are you willing to do it now?"
"Now? Like, right now?" I asked. She nodded. Could I even say no at this point? "Like… is it super important to do it now?"
She stared at me. Realizing it was a yes I sighed. I mean, I just woke up from all this man. Can't a girl get a break?
Nodding numbly, I let her grab my arm at a weird angle. It was a strange process and I using part of my shirt to bit on so I wouldn't hurt my teeth as much when I grit them. It was Black Canary's suggestion, so I could tell this would be really painful.
"One." She tightened her grip. "Two." I bit a little harder on the cloth in my mouth. "Three!" a muffled shrieked burst from my mouth as my shoulder was forced back into the socket. Seconds later, a numbing relief washed over me, only lasting for a few seconds before it turned into an aching soareness.
"Ow ow…" I hissed. "Owwww…"
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Nah… it's cool." Hold back the tears Arinna. Don't cry in front of Super Man. You are angry with him for how he treats Conner, and he will not see your weak side! You are a lion to him! Rawr!
….Or something. I dunno. I'm so tired, I don't know what I am thinking anymore.
"Rawr." I grumbled as Super Man came closer to me. He blinked, not sure what to say. So instead, he turned right back around and went to Bat Man. Yeah, that's right, you walk away awkwardly.
I'm just gonna… I'm just gonna go sit down.
Yeah.
ALRIGHT! Whoop. This chapter felt… weird. Just because it's in Arinna's POV, but most the episode was in Artemis and Robin's kind of POV. So… yeah. The action felt kind of short. Sorry.
But, I got a big important question for you guys.
IN EXACTLY 10 EPISODES WE MEET MATCH! For those who have seen the show, you know who Match is. If not, just go watch episode 22 to remind yourself. XD
Anyway, I always felt super bad that Match barely got any screen time. And I feel that if maybe we got the league involved or something, they might have found a way to help him. So since this is a Fanfiction and anything can happen, WHO WANTS TO SEE SOME MORE MATCH STUFF? As if Match becomes a good guy and stabilizes? :D
Let me know in the reviews if you would want that to happen.