BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. YOUNG JUSTICE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY OC'S BELONG TO ME, AS DOES THE RIGHT TO SCARE THE BEJEEZUS OUT OF THEM.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Awesome movies, scares, and enough sugar to put an elephant into a diabetic coma—what's not to love? If I were a superhero, however, I would hate Halloween; all those crazies come out, like the guy you're about to meet. Have fun keeping this guy out of your nightmares!
Unlimited Justice, Part 1
Chapter 20
Secrets
New York City, October 31, 19:26 EDT
At the New York Museum of Natural History, it was uncommon for there to be any activity after closing. If there was activity, it was usually bad; when the police became involved, that 'usually' became 'definitely'.
The police had responded to a report of a break-in, and found that an artifact had been stolen, while the museum's curator was very distressed. Normally, if anything was stolen from a museum, the curator was distressed, but the man was acting as if his life's savings had just been taken.
"So, let me get this straight," the detective in charge of the investigation said, going over the curator's report, "Someone busted inside, got around your state-of-the-art security system, smashed this glass case without tripping an alarm… and it was all for a sword?"
"Not just any sword, Detective," the curator said, "It was the Sword of Beowulf! It's priceless! Legend says that only the pure of heart can unlock its great power, and only by saying the proper incantation: Abanen aful Beowulf!"
"Right," the detective said sarcastically, though a small part of him was open to believing; after all, he'd seen the kind of people existed in the world, like the Justice League, so who was to say that a magic sword didn't exist?
"Anyway," he continued, "the NYPD will do its best, but the thief is obviously long gone."
"Let's not rush to judgment," a sly voice said from the shadows. The curator, the detective and the handful of uniformed officers faced the owner of the voice, who stepped into the light. He was a young man, with pale, almost gray, skin, with long, black hair. He wore black combat pants, and a long, gray coat over his bare chest. On his face was a tattoo, four red lines that started at near his scalp and crossed diagonally over his left eye. In one pale hand was a scabbard, shaped like a withered, Human arm whose fingers wrapped around the hilt of a sword.
"Mediocrity such as this," he said with a cruel smile, "is never far from Harm."
The detective and other officers aimed their pistols at the man.
"Freeze!" the detective ordered, "Drop the sword!"
The man ignored the guns. "Still, Harm should be grateful. Harm did need the words."
He grabbed the hilt with his free hand. "Abanan… Aful… Beowulf."
With a sickening pop, the fingers of scabbard released their hold, and the man pulled the fabled sword free. As he did so, orange lightning crackled around the blade, while a circle of runes appeared on the left side of his chest, right over his heart. The sword glowed from within, and then the man swung the weapon, despite being too far to cut anyone.
It turned out, however, that he didn't need to cut someone with the sword to kill them. Orange lightning shot out from the tip of the blade, punching through the hearts of the police, killing them instantly. The curator backed up in fear, while the young man sighed.
"How monumentally unsatisfying," he said, approaching the curator, "Harm and the sword will require greater challenges."
"B-But the legend…" the curator whimpered, "Only the pure of heart should be able to summon that power!"
"The legend said the heart must be pure," the murderer said as the sword began to glow again, "It never said pure good."
The last thing the curator saw was the blade being pointed at him, and then he saw nothing at all.
As he stepped over the curator's smoking corpse, the man, Harm, walked out of the museum and took a deep breath of air. He looked at the lights of New York City, and all the opportunities they promised. For Harm, they promised many, many more people to kill.
The budding mass-murderer took off into the night; when he was gone, another man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, with black hair; he wore a suit with a white lab coat over it, while a pair of goggles hung loosely around his neck. He looked in the direction Harm had left, then sighed and pulled out a pocketwatch.
"Oh, this won't end well," Professor Paradox said to himself, "I hope young Ken is up to it."
…
Mount Justice, 19:34 EDT
"I hate Halloween."
Ken looked down at Rachel with a raised eyebrow. "Really? You hate a holiday practically devoted to darkness and scary things? I thought you'd love it."
Rachel shrugged. "Well, that part I'm okay with. It's all the annoying kids on a sugar-high, running around in stupid costumes that I hate."
"So, Barry then?" Ken gestured to the speedster in question, who was dressed as the Wolfman, albeit one wearing a school uniform.
"Uh-huh," Rachel said, then winced as Barry let out a piercing howl. "Can I banish him to another dimension? Please?"
"Sorry," Ken replied, "we might need him later, and even if you do, he'll just annoy you more as revenge."
Rachel sighed, then scowled as Barry howled again. He looked down at Wolf, who was fast asleep nearby.
"Really?" he asked, "You're not going to join in? What kind of wolf are you?"
"Barry, stop tormenting him," Conner said from across the room, as M'gann wrapped bandages around his head.
"Stop moving," she chided gently, though Ken suspected that she didn't really mind; Conner's struggles only meant that M'gann could wrap her arms around him a little tighter as she helped him with his costume.
Ken pinched the bridge of his nose as Barry cut in between them, trying once again to flirt with M'gann. Rachel noticed Ken's actions and raised an eyebrow.
"Something wrong?"
"I know Barry can be… difficult sometimes," Ken said, trying to be nice on his friend's account, "But do those two really have to mess with him like that? Can't Conner and M'gann just tell him that they're dating?"
"Why don't you tell him?" Rachel asked.
"Two reasons: first, because unless it negatively affects the Team, it's not my place." Ken then smiled ruefully. "And second, because all three of them would be upset with me if I said anything."
"Coward," Rachel said, though there wasn't any malice in her tone; if anything, there was a small smile.
"I prefer the term 'cautious'," Ken shot back, "You ever been on the receiving end of an angry Superboy? I have, and I don't want to go through that again."
Rachel thought back to the time she'd seen Conner fight, and figured that Ken had the right idea. She then brought the conversation back to the beginning.
"So why aren't you going to that party at M'gann's school?" the Martian had invited the entire Team to a Halloween party, but Rachel, Rex, Jason, Koriand'r, Valerie and Ken had all politely declined.
"I'd feel awkward, for one," Ken said, "The party's got lots of dancing, and my girlfriend is back in Seattle with her parents; apparently, beating up the crazies on Halloween is their version of 'family bonding'. And I'm not the biggest fan of Halloween."
"Really?" now both of Rachel's eyebrows shot up.
"I'm too old for trick-or-treating, and after Mom takes Jen out from her trick-or-treating, she and Dad, uh… 'stay in', if you know what I mean."
Rachel shuddered. "So you came to the Cave to escape any potential nightmares?"
"One of the downsides to having a photographic memory," Ken grimaced and tapped the side of his head. His grimace became a full-blown scowl when he saw who entered the room. "Here's another of those downsides: I think Artemis is about to find out about Conner and M'gann."
Rachel turned to see the other blond on the Team, dressed as a witch—something she wasn't completely sure she was okay with—enter the room just in time to see Conner and M'gann share a quick kiss when Barry's back was turned. Even without her empathic abilities, Rachel could see the hurt cross Artemis' face, before she turned and left the room.
Ken sighed. "Remember when I said that I wouldn't get involved? Now I think I have to."
"You want backup?" Rachel offered, before her brain realized what her mouth was doing.
Ken blinked. "You want to help with this? You?"
Rachel was glad that her hoodie hid her embarrassed flush. "Let's just go before I change my mind."
The two of them followed after Artemis, passing, Victor and Samantha on the way. The former was dressed as Frankenstein's Monster, albeit one with more metal plating on the left side of his face, while the latter had gone as the Bride of Frankenstein.
"Hey Ken, what's up with Artemis?" Samantha asked, "She looked really upset."
"She just found out about Conner and M'gann," Ken said quietly.
Victor winced. "Ouch. How's Barry taking it?"
"He still doesn't know," Rachel said, and now it was Samantha's turn to wince.
"That's so mean. How long is M'gann going to string him along?"
"Don't know, but right now, we're going to make sure Artemis isn't looking for Kryptonite- or fire-arrows," Ken said.
"You need backup?" Victor asked.
"Nah, you two have fun," Ken replied, shaking his head, then smiled. "Don't stay out too late; I heard what Vigilante threatened to do to you, Vic."
Samantha giggled, while her new boyfriend rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. A few days after the sessions with Black Canary, Samantha had had a quiet discussion with Victor. No one knew exactly what transpired between them, but it had resulted in both of them teleporting to Samantha's home and Victor asking Vigilante and Vixen if he could date their daughter. Both parents had said yes, but Vigilante had taken Victor off to the side and threatened to turn him into spare parts for his motorcycle if the boy hurt his daughter. Normally, this would be typical protective-father attitude, but it had been taken more seriously when Vigilante said it while twirling one of his pistols.
Leaving an embarrassed couple behind them, Ken and Rachel found Artemis, now in her civilian clothes, in the gym, punching a wooden dummy hard enough to bruise her hands.
"I'm an idiot," Artemis growled, "How did I not see it?"
"You're not an idiot," Ken said, though he stayed out of range of Artemis' fists and feet, "We all wondered about that second part, though."
Artemis sighed and stepped away from the dummy, then walked over to a bench and sat down. "What happens now?"
"Well, I'd stop flirting with Conner," Rachel offered, then sat down next to Artemis; her hands began to glow, and the bruises on Artemis' own hands began to fade. "M'gann might make you forget the last five years of your life if you keep it up."
Artemis' lip twitched, though whether it was because Rachel's joke was genuinely funny or the fact that she attempted to make a joke at all was unknown.
"Does Barry know?"
"If Barry knew, he'd stop flirting," Ken said, sitting on the other side of Artemis, "Despite how he acts, he doesn't hit on girls who are dating someone else."
Artemis sighed, but with a hint of relief. "Well, I guess he can't hold that over my head then."
Ken placed a hand on her shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"
Artemis shrugged. "I still wanna hit something. Either of you up for a night on the town?"
Ken and Rachel glanced at each other, then smirked. Ken pretended to weigh the options in his hands.
"Stay here and get bored, or go out and beat up bad guys… yeah, let's get suited up." Ken frowned, remembering something. "Just give me a few minutes, okay? I've got to clear something with Batman."
…
After Ken got changed, he met in a private, soundproofed room with Batman, Robin and Red Arrow, who had been the one to call the meeting.
"I'll get straight to the point," Batman said, looking at Ken and Robin, "Do you believe that there is a mole on the Team?"
"No way," Ken said confidently, "None of them are traitors."
"You sure?" Red Arrow asked, "Some of your teammates aren't exactly honest. I know that you, Robin, Kid Flash and Warhawk are fine, and so is Safari, but the others… for starters, Artemis isn't Green Arrow's niece."
Ken's eyebrows lifted, but then he shrugged. "Eh, figured she wasn't, considering that she never works in Star City."
"Wait, you knew?" Red Arrow asked incredulously.
Ken shrugged again. "I assume that Batman knows her real past, right?" at the Dark Knight's nod, he continued. "I can't see Batman putting our secret identities or our lives on the line by putting a mole on the Team."
That seemed take some of the wind out of Red Arrow's sails, but he forged on. "What about Superboy? He could have all kinds of programming in his head that not even the Martian could find. Speaking of Martians, what about the one on your team? We don't know anything about her past; who knows what she could be hiding?"
"M'gann might have her secrets, but she's about as good at lying as Batman is at laughing," Ken shrugged at Batman before moving on, "Even if Superboy has some kind of programming that will make him attack us, we have enough people and skills on the Team to handle it, and even if we can't, we can call in the League. But I know that Superboy wouldn't willingly attack us."
"What about Cyborg, Starfire, Raven or Seeker?" Red Arrow said stubbornly, "I know that Seeker is your girlfriend, but come on, she's the daughter of two of the craziest members of the League!"
Ken gave him a stare that made the archer a little uncomfortable. "Cyborg has enough anti-tampering software that I can probably count the number of people who can compromise him on one hand. Starfire is the last of her kind; I can't see her attacking us, we're practically family. Besides, like with Superboy, even if there was a problem, we could handle it.
"Raven is a very private person, but I trust her because she's done so many things that she didn't have to. When we first met her, she didn't have to help us fight Ivo, but she did; she could have stayed at Zatanna's house, but she joined the Team, even when she warned us that there were things about her that we wouldn't like.
"As for Seeker… yes, she's the daughter of Question and Huntress, and both of them are considered unstable at best. However, she's put her life on the line for all of us at some point. Kobra, the attack on the Cave, the Injustice League—all fights she could have stayed out of, but she didn't."
Ken took a few seconds to breathe deeply, letting out his slowly building anger. "My point is this: I've gotten to know each and every one of my teammates. I don't care about their pasts, I care about them, and over the last few months, I can tell you this: none of them would ever betray us."
Batman looked at the resolve in Ken's eyes; it was the resolve of someone who didn't just have faith in his friends, but had facts to back up his faith.
"Was there anything else, or is your little witch-hunt over?" Ken asked.
Red Arrow said nothing, Ken having totally ripped apart every argument he had. Even if there was a mole, the Team could handle it. Robin smirked; while Red Arrow had been friends with Nightwing, the third Robin always found the archer to be an egotistical jackass at the best of times.
"I just wanted to know your stance on this, Ken," Batman said, "I agree with your assessment: there is no mole on the Team."
Ken gave Batman a nod and a slight smile. "Thanks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to help Artemis and Raven with something.
"Oh, by the way, Red," Ken said, right before he left, a mischievous smile on his face, "Artemis is a better shot than you!"
Closing the door behind him, he met Artemis and Raven by the teleporters; both girls were in their uniforms and had three motorcycles nearby.
"Are you okay?" Artemis asked, seeing the annoyed look on Ken's face.
"Yeah, I'm good," Ken said, putting on his helmet, "But now I want to hit something."
"Cool," Artemis looked at Raven, "What about you?"
Raven seemed to struggle with deciding whether or not to wear her hood under her helmet, before finally removing her cloak entirely and putting it in a compartment on her motorcycle's side.
"The sooner we start hitting people, the sooner I can put my cloak back on," was the smaller girl's response.
…
Manhattan, 19:57 EDT
The flash of the teleport faded, and the three teens revved their bikes and tore off into the city. Thankfully, their helmets filtered out outside noise, so they were able to talk into their comms without yelling.
"So, why New York?" Artemis asked, "Isn't this where Hawkwoman, Green Lantern, Vixen and Vigilante work?"
"Vixen and Vigilante have Watchtower-duty tonight," Ken answered, "Hawkwoman and Green Lantern are helping Superman on a case in Metropolis, and Warhawk said he was going with them after helping Barbara with some stuff."
Every member of the Team had, at one point or another, helped the former Batgirl set up equipment within the Batcave to her own liking, or with helping rearrange things in her home to account for her wheelchair-bound lifestyle. None of the teens complained; if anything, they enjoyed hanging out with Barbara, and it sometimes gave them a chance to see the Batcave, a rare opportunity.
"So we have this place all to ourselves?" Raven glanced around at the dark, polluted streets they drove through. "Cool."
"Heads-up," Artemis pointed forward, "Muggers going after some civilians!"
"Well, someone's not getting any treats tonight," Ken commented, "Anyone up for some tricks?"
Raven rolled her eyes at the Halloween joke, then pointed one hand at the five muggers who had surrounded two women and a man. From her hand, several tendrils of dark energy shot forth, tying three muggers' arms to their sides. Ken and Artemis hit the brakes about twenty feet from the criminals and their would-be victims; the sudden stop launched them into the air, where they landed feet-first onto the two guys that Raven had missed.
Raven drove up to the tied-up men, who had lost their balance and fallen over, but were now trying to rise. She hopped off her motorcycle and kicked one in the head, knocking him out.
"I can't believe we got beat by a little girl in a biker-chick outfit," one of the other muggers complained.
"Biker-chick outfit?" Raven asked, as Artemis beat the remaining men into unconsciousness, then tied their wrists to their ankles with zip-ties.
"It's your costume," Ken said—thankfully, all three heroes were still wearing their helmets, so no one could hear their conversation—as he helped the shaken would-be victims to the other side of the street, "Without the cloak, you do kind of look like a biker-chick."
Raven glanced down at herself. While not leather, her black bodysuit was formfitting, leaving little to the imagination. With her helmet added to the mix, she did look like a biker-chick. Thankfully, her helmet hid her blush as she grabbed her cloak.
"Well, that's one crime stopped," Ken said, dusting off his hands as Artemis pulled a marker from her belt and wrote the words 'arrest me' on each muggers' forehead, "Anyone feeling better yet?"
Artemis pretended to think about it. "Nah, I still have a lot of pent-up aggression. Let's beat up more people!"
As the three heroes got back on their motorcycles and drove off, none of them noticed Harm watching them from the rooftops, a dark smile on his face. Perhaps these ones would offer him a true challenge.
…
Over the next hour, the three heroes stopped over a dozen small-time crimes, ranging from more muggings to simple robberies. Most of the time, neither Ken nor Raven needed to use their powers—until tonight, Ken had never seen Raven fight in hand-to-hand combat, but it seemed that Black Canary's lessons with the girl were paying off—while Artemis only needed to use her bow once. She didn't seem to mind as she beat yet another thug senseless.
"That makes an even twenty," she said, breathing slightly heavier than usual as she stepped away from the unconscious form of the criminal.
"Feeling better yet?" Ken asked, "I worked out my aggression half an hour ago. Who's up for scary movies back at the Cave?"
"Can I read my book instead?" Raven asked.
"Only if you at least stay in the room," Ken replied, then glanced at Artemis as they headed back to their motorcycles. "You know, you didn't have to go so hard on that last guy, he was only a purse-snatcher."
"And then he would have gone on to attacking other people, just like all small-time crooks," Artemis shot back, "Trust me, he had it coming, but it's not like I did any permanent damage. No harm done."
Ken rolled his eyes, but didn't get a chance to comment, because a bolt of orange lightning struck the motorcycles, causing a large explosion. Ken grabbed both girls and placed them behind him, so that the shrapnel and bits of fire bounced off of him.
Out of the flames stepped a tall, young man with pale skin, a long coat over his bare chest, and a sparking sword in his hand.
"Indeed," the man said with a sick smile, "Harm is not done. There is much Harm left to do."
Ken shook his head to clear it of the last of the ringing from the explosion. "Who the heck is this guy?"
The man acted as if Ken hadn't said anything. "The its cannot escape Harm."
Artemis scowled as she unfolded her bow and drew an arrow. "Escape isn't on the menu."
The man didn't seem impressed as he effortlessly sliced through the arrows Artemis sent his way. "Arrows do not impress."
"How about this?" Raven's eyes glowed with dark energy. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
A black bolt of magic hurtled towards the man, but again, he slapped it aside with his sword. "It's magic is not so mighty."
"Fine," Ken said, his hands glowing with Mana, "Now it's my turn."
He charged towards the man in the a blur of super-speed, but to his surprise, the mark on the man's chest began to glow, and he was able to effortlessly dodge Ken's blows.
"Hmm, the Sword of Beowulf wishes Harm inflicted upon the it." The man smirked. "They must do better if they wish to best Harm."
"We get it, your name is Harm," Artemis said, aiming another arrow, "Ken, now!"
As Artemis fired, Ken went intangible, allowing the arrow to pass through him, but once again, Harm deflected the shot.
"It has left itself wide open," Harm said, pointing his sword at Ken, "A fatal mistake."
Lightning crackled across the blade again, and an orange bolt shot forth. Ken knew that if he remained intangible, the shot would hit either Artemis or Raven; he took a chance and became solid once again.
Despite his Kryptonian weakness to sorcery, there were some types of magic that Ken could absorb and use as power. Magic that came in the form of beams, fire or electricity were examples of that, so Ken hoped that he'd be able to absorb this attack.
He was wrong.
An unfamiliar sensation, agonizing pain, ripped through him, propelling him backwards and into a semi-demolished building across the street. The structure couldn't handle the kind of power it had been hit with, and to the horror of Raven and Artemis, the building collapsed, with Ken at the bottom.
"Oh, you are going to pay for that!" Artemis yelled, firing a net-arrow, but Harm sliced through it again.
Raven pointed at the sword; her hand and the hilt were both wrapped in dark energy as she tried to disarm Harm.
"It wants Harm's sword?" Harm drew his arm back. "It can have the sword!"
With a mighty throw, Harm launched the sword at Raven, who would have been skewered if Artemis hadn't tackled her out of the way. The blade was buried into part of the collapsed building, but Harm didn't look upset at being without a weapon.
"Just like Amazo," Artemis whispered. Raven nodded; she remembered the first time she and Artemis worked together, even if it was unintentional.
Raven held out her hand again, trapping Harm's feet to the ground. Artemis drew an explosive arrow and fired, but to her surprise, Harm caught it in his hand, then threw it back with far more force than a Human should have been able to. If Raven hadn't grabbed the other girl by the shoulder and levitated backwards, the explosion would have killed them; instead, they were only knocked over.
"We need to get out of here," Raven whispered, "Ken's alive, I can feel it, but if we keep this up, Harm might just decide to finish him off."
"What makes you think he'll come after us?" Artemis hissed.
"I can feel what he's like," Raven said, looking ill as she felt Harm's emotions, "He likes games. He wants something to hunt."
Artemis' skin crawled, but she nodded. "Ken so owes us for this."
There was another reason that Raven wanted to put some distance between them and Harm. The sword he was using, and the rune on his chest that seemed to give him power, reeked of Chaos magic, the most deadly of all magic. It was no wonder that Ken was hurt so badly; the force behind even a little Chaos magic had the potential to kill Superman.
Raven led the way down an alley, but was surprised to see a young girl, probably no older than ten, gesturing urgently to follow them. She was pale, even paler than Raven, with hair so light-blond that it was almost as white as her clothes. Her outfit almost looked like a white version of Raven's, but with a shirt and pants instead of a bodysuit.
What was really strange, however, was that Raven wasn't reading any emotions from the girl, which made no sense. All living things had emotion, or at least intent; the only beings she couldn't read were androids like Red Tornado. Raven didn't want to trust someone she couldn't get a read on, but at that moment, with a crazed, Chaos-magic-powered killer after them, Raven didn't have a lot of options.
"Who's that?" Artemis asked as they ran.
"Don't know," Raven said tersely, "But she seems to want to help. I think."
The two followed the girl, only to stop at a dead end, and the girl was nowhere in sight.
"Great, now what?" Artemis asked, "Please tell me you can teleport us out of here?"
"If we disappear, Harm will kill Ken," Raven said, "I really don't want his death on my conscience."
Artemis grimaced, but before she could comment, movement caught her eye. She looked up to see the little girl on the roof of the building next to them, waving down at them.
"She's got the right idea," Raven said, and spread her arms; a black circle appeared under their feet and lifted them up to the top of the building, where they found the girl waiting.
"Who are you?" Raven demanded, "What are you? I can't sense anything from you, so you're obviously not normal."
The girl stared at them blankly. "Secret."
"That won't cut it," Artemis said, "We need answers. Do you know Harm? Does he have any weaknesses?"
"Secret," the girl said again, then pointed at something behind them.
With a single leap, Harm jumped the fifty feet necessary to get to the roof. He smiled at Raven and Artemis, idly twirling the sword in his hand.
"At least they make the hunt interesting," he said.
Artemis fired a smoke-arrow to give them cover, and the two of them began running, trying to get away.
"Where'd little Miss Secret go?" Artemis asked, when she realized the girl wasn't there anymore.
"There!" Raven pointed to the roof of a building half a block away, where the girl was waving urgently at them. Another disk of magic appeared under Raven's feet.
"Get on!" she said, and as soon as Artemis did so, Raven flew them towards the girl. They didn't make it, however, because Harm fired another bolt of orange lightning that shattered Raven's disk like glass. Both girls hit the nearest rooftop hard, but got back up. Artemis drew another arrow, but Harm pulled a dagger from within his coat and threw it with expert accuracy; the dagger sliced through Artemis' bowstring and gave the archer a shallow cut across the cheekbone, before hitting a flagpole.
Artemis scowled. "Keep him off me while I re-string!"
Raven nodded and sent a flock of her namesake, made of dark energy, at Harm, but a wave of lightning from him dissipated the birds. At that point, Harm was upon her; Raven tried to kick him in the chest, but despite the lessons Black Canary had given, Raven was no match for harm in close-combat. A punch to her gut drove Raven to her knees, and a knee to her temple knocked her out.
Artemis had been given no time to repair her bow, so she charged in, using it as a crooked quarterstaff. Harm's sword cut it in two with a single slash, while his free hand struck her shoulder, spinning her around. Still, it gave Artemis the opportunity to draw her backup-weapon, a hand-crossbow, which she aimed at Harm's throat just as the sword was about to decapitate her. Both fighters were now at a stalemate.
"How about we do this without the toys?" Artemis offered.
"It tries to bait Harm," the psychopath said, even as he pulled the scabbard off his back and sheathed the sword. "It wants to make Harm weak… but Harm has no weakness."
Harm dropped the sword, then removed his coat; Artemis dropped her crossbow and raised her fists. The archer made the first move, throwing a series of rapid punches, but Harm either dodged or slapped aside her attacks with only one hand. Artemis switched to a combination of punches and kicks, but nothing worked. While he wasn't losing, Harm was slowly giving ground, leading the fight away from Artemis' unconscious teammate.
Raven slowly opened her eyes to see the unfolding fight, but her attention was then drawn to the sword nearby. Perhaps if she got if further away from Harm, his abilities would fade; that was only a guess, though. Chaos magic was unpredictable by nature; for all Raven knew, getting the sword away from Harm would make him stronger. Still, she had to try.
Harm's smirk had become a full grin as he dodged another strike. "It is unfocused, plagued by demons. How can it hope to defeat Harm when it will be defeated by itself?"
Artemis gritted her teeth; the fact that someone could so easily see that she had insecurities was bad enough, but throwing it in her face? That was just mean.
"Harm does not battle his demons," the psychopath said, his smile fading, "Harm embraces them."
A shriek of pain caused both fighters to turn around; Raven had tried to pull the sword off the ground, but as soon as her hand reached the hilt, arcs of lightning struck her, knocking her to the ground
"Raven!" Artemis' distraction cost her; Harm smashed his fist against the side of her head, sending the archer flying to land next to Raven.
Harm casually put his coat back on and looked at the dazed girls. "It cares about others—another weakness. The sword rejected its impure heart; it has not made the sacrifices Harm has made in order to become pure."
Both girls struggled to rise; as they did, Raven noticed a familiar, if somewhat annoying, figure waving at them a couple rooftops away.
"It's that girl," Raven whispered, "Might as well call her 'Secret'."
"Think we should follow her again?" Artemis asked.
"Do we have a better option?"
Artemis sighed, then reached for her quiver; while her bow was destroyed, she could still throw the arrows like knives. A smoke-arrow landed at Harm's feet, blinding him just long enough for the Artemis to scoop up her crossbow before she and Raven headed after Secret. As soon as they reached the roof the little girl had been on, however, they found that she was gone.
"I am really starting to hate that," Artemis said, then noticed a store on the other side of the street, "Come on, we can get to that mattress store."
"Or we could contact the League?" Raven offered, "This guy is using Chaos magic; the longer we fight, the more powerful he'll get."
When Artemis considered that, and how Harm had effortlessly taken down Ken, one of the Team's heavy hitters, calling in backup sounded good. It was only then that the girls realized that neither of them had their communicators with them; they'd left them in their helmets, which had been abandoned near their destroyed motorcycles.
Before either of them could say how stupid that was, Harm reached the rooftop they stood on, his sword in one hand, his dagger in the other. Unlike before, Harm wasn't just serious, he looked outraged.
"This can be no coincidence," he snarled, "They alight on Harm's very roof! How did they know? Tell Harm, now!"
"Wait, this is your place!?" Artemis resisted the urge to roll her eyes, if only because Harm would probably take advantage of the distraction.
"No more games," Harm growled, then drove his sword into the rooftop, orange lightning arcing towards the girls. They tried to dodge, but each was caught in a net of magic lightning; after a few moments of agony, they were knocked out.
As Harm moved to collect his prisoners, he didn't notice Secret standing behind him, looking at the fallen heroes sadly.
…
Ken slowly opened his eyes, but nothing really changed from when he had them closed—there was still darkness all around him. He could feel a lot of weight pressing down around him, and his chest hurt, though his rapid healing was already fixing the damage he'd taken. After taking a moment to remember how he'd gotten here, he went intangible, stood up and walked out from under the collapsed building. He looked around at the smoldering remains of the motorcycles, and at the fallen helmets of his teammates.
"Oh man, I hope they're okay," he said to himself.
"That depends entirely on you," a British voice said, "That is, if you're in time."
Ken turned to face the source of the voice and blinked in surprise. "Professor Paradox?"
The time-walker smiled. "Oh good, you know me; I wasn't sure if this was the first time we'd met or not."
"Uh, no, this is," Ken said, "Dad told me about you."
While Ken had heard about his father's time-traveling friend, he'd never met the man; from what he'd been told, Paradox only showed up if there was a threat of world-ending proportions.
"If the universe is about to end or something," he continued, "I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can you ask my dad for help?"
Paradox only shook his head. "The universe isn't at risk—at least, not at this moment. No, I'm here for a more, shall we say, personal matter. It involves that young man, Harm, and the damage he has wrought."
As he spoke, Paradox's smile faded away. Whatever he was doing was far from pleasant.
"Well, if you're after that guy, maybe we can help each other," Ken offered, but Paradox only sighed.
"I'm sorry, Ken, but while our goals have similarities, you must fight Harm without me. Do not worry, though; you will see me at the end." Paradox tilted his head for a moment, then pointed down the street. "However, if you wish to find your teammates, go down there until you see a store with the sign 'Abel's House of Secrets'. The building directly across the street is where Miss Artemis and Miss Raven are being held. Oh, and beware that sword, the Chaos magic contained within can kill you quite easily; you were lucky this time."
Ken looked in the direction Paradox pointed. "Thanks, Professor, I—"
He found himself talking to empty air; when he'd turned, Paradox had disappeared. "Huh. I wonder if he and Batman share notes or something."
Ken shook the thought away as he dashed down the street with his super-speed. His teammates were in trouble, and he needed to get his head in the game.
…
When Artemis woke up, she found herself tied to a chair in a dark room—not a place anyone wants to wake up to. She struggled against the ropes that bound her, but they were too tight.
"It deigns to awaken," Harm's voice echoed through the darkness.
Artemis looked around for the psycho, but her eyes couldn't penetrate the shadows. After a few seconds, a small television, placed in front of her, turned on, showing a live image of Raven; the sorceress was tied up, just like Artemis was, but she'd been disabled to prevent her from using magic. For someone to use magic, they had to have a focused mind; if the blood streaming down from Raven's scalp was any indication, her concussion would prevent her from focusing.
"It will tell Harm its secrets," Harm whispered, but the sound seemed to fill the room, "or its partner will die."
Artemis struggled again, but froze when she felt someone's breath on her neck.
"How did it know of Harm's home?" Harm asked.
Artemis scowled. "Ask your partner, she lured us here!"
Harm made his way around Artemis, head tilted in confusion. "Harm has no partner. Harm is pure, and works alone."
…
Ken scanned the somewhat damaged house with his X-ray vision and was not happy with what he saw; Artemis was trapped in a room on the second floor with Harm, while Raven, on the first floor, was hurt and struggling to remain awake.
"How do I do this without anyone getting killed?" he asked himself.
"Secret."
"Gah!" Ken spun around to see the young girl behind him; how had she snuck up on him like that?
"Kid, this is not a good place to be," Ken said, "There's a psycho with a magic sword in there, and I need to help my friends."
"Secret."
Ken blinked at the one-word response. "What's a secret?"
"Secret."
Ken frowned. "Do you know how to help my friends?"
"Secret."
"… What's Superman's secret identity?"
"Secret."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Secret."
"What is the meaning of life?"
"Secret."
"I was kinda hoping you'd say forty-two… is 'secret' the only word you can say?"
"Secret."
"Got it. Well, if you'll excuse me, Secret, I still have to save my friends."
Secret tugged on his jacket and pointed at the side of the building with Raven in it.
"You want me to save Raven first?" Ken asked, "Wait, how did you know that was where she was? Wait, don't tell me—"
"Secret."
"Yeah, I figured. Okay, wait here, I'll go get her."
Ken glanced one more time at where Artemis was; it seemed that Harm wanted her to tell him something, so she wasn't at risk of being killed, at least for now. Gathering his strength, he leaped at the building, activating his intangibility at the last second; his momentum carried him right into Raven's room, where he became solid once again. He ripped off the rope keeping her on the chair, then had to catch Raven when she almost fell down.
"Hey, Raven, can you hear me?" he whispered; Raven tried to look him in the eye, but her gaze kept drifting.
Ken sighed. "You need to wake up so that you can heal yourself. Sorry about this."
Taking one of her hands in his, Ken sent a mild electric shock up her arm. Raven's eyes suddenly focused, and she opened her mouth to let out a pained yelp, but Ken quickly placed a hand over her mouth.
"Hi, Raven," Ken said, "You can be mad at me later; right now, you need to heal your head."
Raven nodded; a moment later, her hand began to glow and she placed it on her wound. A few seconds later, the cut healed. Raven stood up, slightly unsteady, but able to move if she had to.
"Ken?" she asked softly, "Are you okay?"
"I healed up on the way here," Ken reassured her, "How are you feeling now?"
"I'm fine," Raven said, then hesitated for a moment before hugging Ken. "Don't scare me like that again."
"Aw, you were worried?" Ken teased.
Raven scowled and pulled her hood over her head. "I just didn't want to tell Valerie that her boyfriend died on my watch. She'd be all upset, and I'd have to feel all those negative emotions."
"Yeah, you were worried," Ken smiled, but something across the room—and as he looked around, he realized that it was the room of a young girl—caught his eye.
"What is it?" Raven asked.
"This picture," Ken said, picking up a framed photograph of Harm, with healthier skin and no tattoos, next to a young girl. Both looked happy, smiling at the camera as they hugged. There was something about the girl, though; she looked like—
"Ken… what is she doing here?" Raven pointed at something behind Ken.
Secret waved, looking a little sheepish. "Secret."
"How did you get in here?" Ken hissed, "What are you, a ninja?"
"Secret."
"Is this you in this picture?" Ken asked, holding up the photo, "Are you and Harm related?"
"Secret."
"I need to stop asking her questions," Ken muttered, then turned to Raven, who was eyeing Secret suspiciously. "Raven, we need to save Artemis; can you use your magic?"
Raven tore her gaze from Secret to nod at Ken. "Yeah, but I don't think I can fight."
"I don't need you to," Ken assured her, "I'll keep Harm occupied so that you can free Artemis; once you do that, I need you two and Secret here to run as far from here as you can."
Raven glared at him. "We won't abandon you."
"I don't want you to," Ken said, "As soon as Artemis and Secret are safe, I want you to teleport to the Metro Tower, it's closer than the Cave. Get someone, anyone, to help. You're not running away, you're calling the cavalry."
There was a moment of hesitation, and then Raven nodded. "Okay, fine. What's the plan?"
"I'm going to yell."
"What?"
"I'm going to yell as loud as I can and get Harm's attention; wait a few seconds, then teleport to Artemis and get out of here." Ken then turned to Secret. "Okay, kid, I want you to stay with Raven and do whatever she says; can you do that?"
"Secret."
Ken pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course it is. Get ready, both of you."
Raven and Secret moved to the corner of the room, and Ken took a deep breath.
"Hey, Harm!" Ken shouted as loud as he could, "You think you're so tough? You couldn't even kill a half-Kryptonian with magic! Come on, you big wimp, show me what you've got!"
Ken's super-hearing picked up a 'what!?' from the other side of the house, followed by approaching footsteps. He nodded at Raven, who opened up a black portal, which she and Secret stepped through. A moment after they were gone, the door to the room burst open as Harm walked in, his sword sparking.
Ken leaned against a wall casually. "So, ready for round two?"
"It dares to taunt Harm?" Harm snarled, "After being so easily bested before?"
Ken shrugged. "Eh, I was just being sporting, letting you take the first move. That's all you get, though."
Fire emerged from Ken's hands, spiraling around his arms. "Now it's my turn."
…
Raven had hoped that Artemis would be awake and ready to leave when she and Secret arrived, but Harm had decided to knock her out before leaving to face Ken. Raven sliced through the ropes holding the other girl down, then tried shaking her awake, but nothing worked. She looked down at Secret.
"I'm going to do something that I don't normally do," she said, "Don't tell anyone."
"Secret."
Raven held out her hand. "Evig em a eceip fo eci."
A small chunk of ice appeared in her hand, and Raven grimaced. She preferred using her shadow-magic, but it was always satisfying—Raven would never admit to it actually being fun, even if it was—to learn new things from Zatanna.
With a little smirk, Raven slipped the piece of ice down Artemis' back. The archer immediately stiffened and started to wake up, but it was happening too slowly. Secret tugged on Raven's cloak and gestured for her to move. As soon as that happened, Secret drew back one hand and slapped Artemis with a loud crack.
Obviously, that got Artemis to wake up.
"Ow!" she said, holding her face, then glaring at Secret. "You! Why did you slap me? And why is my back cold?"
"No time to explain," Raven said, "Ken's holding off Harm for as long as he can, but I need to teleport us to the Metro Tower and get help."
"Can you take us that far?" Artemis asked skeptically; Raven was swaying slightly on her feet, and that was just from an extremely short-ranged teleport.
"I can try," Raven said, "I should be able to get you within a couple of blocks, but I'm probably going to pass out afterwards. You'll have to make it the rest of the way."
"Not gonna happen," Artemis said, "Ken could get killed by the time we get there. Our best chance is to take Harm down while Ken has him—"
With a crash, Ken smashed through the wall, sliding to a halt at the girls' feet. He was alive, but he clutched his right shoulder; both his jacket and shirt were torn there, and there was a black burn on the flesh.
"Change of plans," he said in a pained voice as he rose to his feet, "Let's just try not to die."
"That's a plan?" Artemis asked, even as she felt relief that Ken was alive.
"It is for the next five minutes," Ken grunted as they all headed for the door, "If we're still alive after that, then we're doing a good job."
"Where do we go?" Raven asked.
"Outside," Artemis said, "We'll have more room to maneuver."
"Good idea," Ken said.
"Secret!" the three heroes turned to see Secret pointing down a hallway.
"As long as that way is away from Harm, it's a good place to go," Ken said, then stumbled from the pain.
"Easy there," Artemis said, draping Ken's arm across her shoulders, "I'll help you until you heal up. Raven, cover us!"
"On it!" Raven's hands glowed with dark energy as she walked backwards, while Artemis helped Ken down the hallway.
Ken's eyes glowed as he scanned the area ahead of them. "We're headed to the kitchen."
"Great, maybe we can grab a sandwich on the way out," Artemis said sarcastically, just before a bolt of orange lightning struck just in front of Raven, blowing her back into her teammates. Harm swung his sword again, and another bolt of lightning blew a hole in the floor, sending all three of them crashing into the kitchen.
As the smoke cleared, Harm spotted Secret, but didn't see her face as the girl ran around a corner. Harm considered going after this new intruder, but the heroes had pushed him too far; he would kill them first.
He jumped down the hole he'd created, searching for his victims, but only saw Ken; the teenager had his finger in an electrical socket, using the energy to boost his healing and restore his energy. Harm thought that Ken would fight him, but Ken only smirked, snapped his fingers to create a tiny ball of fire, and dashed out.
Harm was about to give chase, when he saw where the tiny amount of fire was headed: the open oven, with an open gas-line.
"Oh, those little b—"
Ken, Artemis and Raven had just made it outside to the backyard when the first floor of the house exploded. Ken looked around and noticed that someone was missing.
"Oh man, where's Secret?" he asked, "I hope she wasn't in that…"
"Ken, I don't think that'll be a problem," Artemis said, pointing with a trembling hand; on the other side of the yard was a small mound of dirt, with a small plank of wood leaning against a tree.
On the piece of wood were four words: Greta Hayes, Beloved Sister.
As the three read the words, the now-transparent form of Secret literally rose from the grave. She quickly became solid, but the heroes knew that it was an illusion.
"She's a ghost," Raven said, "That's why I couldn't feel anything from her."
"And why I couldn't hear a heartbeat or anything," Ken added, feeling sick; this little girl had died, and had just been buried in the backyard like an animal?
"A ghost," Artemis said, not quite believing what she saw, "An actual ghost."
"How… how did you die?" Ken asked.
Secret held out her hands; there was a blue glow, and then a dagger that was familiar to Artemis and Raven appeared.
"That belongs to Harm," Raven said, "But wasn't Harm her brother? Why would he have that dagger?"
In Ken's mind, the pieces fell into place, and he was not happy. "It's because Harm was the one who killed her."
"They defile Harm's holy place!" the heroes turned to see a slightly singed Harm step out of the house.
"We defiled it?" Artemis looked sick. "You did this! To your own sister!"
Harm only smiled.
Raven recoiled at what she felt from the man. "He's proud."
"Proud?" Ken repeated dully, before taking a step forward. "Proud!? How the hell could you be proud of killing your little sister!? You even had the gall to write 'beloved'!"
"Not gall," Harm said calmly, "Truth. She was the only thing Harm ever loved; that's why she had to go. Harm's heart had to be pure; Greta had to be cut out, excised, like an infection."
Greta glowered, but it was Ken that Raven now had her focus on. The emotions pouring off of him were so strong that she couldn't believe that anyone else couldn't feel them. She felt grief for Greta, a hint of confusion, but most of all, there was anger.
It was typically hard to make Ken truly angry. He could get annoyed fairly easily, even frustrated, but that was tempered with an iron discipline. The only time Raven had seen Ken actually angry was during the simulation, when he thought Artemis was dead.
This was far worse. This was the kind of anger that not only made you hope that you weren't between Ken and the source of his rage, but hope that you weren't within fifty miles.
"How…" Ken choked out, "How could you kill your little sister?"
Harm raised an eyebrow. "Why is it so bothered by Greta's death? What does it matter to it… oh, Harm sees now. It also has a sister. It has someone it loves, but that is its weakness. It could be pure, just like Harm, if only it—"
Ken exploded into motion, moving so fast that Raven and Artemis didn't even know he'd acted until they saw Harm fly into the side of the house. Ken's chest heaved, not with exertion, but with unbridled rage.
How could he think that I would… that I would kill Jen? Ken glared at Harm, who struggled to his feet. Oh, he wants more? Good, because I'm not done.
Ken charged again; Harm was ready this time, and cast a bolt of lightning, striking Ken in the shoulder. Enraged as he was, the magic only slowed him down for a moment, and then he was inside Harm's reach; his fist, now crackling with his own lightning, smashed into Harm's chin, and if the sword's magic hadn't been protecting the man, the blow would have separated his head from his shoulders.
"I'm nothing like you!" Ken shouted, lashing out with his foot and catching Harm in the knee, "How could anyone be like you!?"
A desperate kick from Harm knocked Ken back a step, allowing Harm to make a wide slash with his sword. Ken caught the blade on his arm, and though it bit deep into his flesh, he fought through the pain and wrenched the sword away. He grabbed Harm's wrist his other hand and squeezed. Despite being far more durable than a normal Human, Harm was facing an angry half-Kryptonian who had thrown away all restraint.
The bones in Harm's wrist were almost instantly turned to paste.
Harm screamed in pain, falling to his knees. Ken grabbed him by the back of his head and lifted him up to face the ghost of Greta.
"Look your sister in the eye and tell her you don't have any remorse," Ken growled, then shook him when Harm refused to do so.
"LOOK AT HER!"
Harm opened his eyes, looking deep into Greta's own. "No… no, Harm's heart is pure! Harm is worthy!"
"If you really didn't care," Ken said, "You wouldn't have written 'beloved'. That shows that, even after you killed her, you still had a shred of decency left. Your heart was not pure."
"No… NO!" Harm screamed as the rune on his chest faded, while the scabbard on his back flew to the fallen sword. The blade went back into the sheath, and the fingers wrapped around the hilt.
At that point, Harm was crying, though whether it was because his durability had faded and he was now feeling the full pain of his injuries, or if he had finally realized what he'd done was unknown, and Ken didn't really care. He ripped off Harm's coat, wincing at his own injuries, and tied Harm's arms behind him. He stepped away from Harm and tilted his head, using his super-hearing.
"Cops are coming," he said, "I'd rather not be here when they arrive."
At that point, Raven and Artemis snapped out of their shock at the brutal beating Ken had given; Raven moved over to Ken and began healing him, while Artemis walked over to the whimpering Harm.
"One more thing," she said, and kicked the man in the face, knocking him out. "Okay, now I've worked out all my aggression."
"Good," Ken said, then looked over at Greta, who still watched her brother. "So, we've caught your killer, and when the police get here, they'll see what happened and give you a proper burial, so… is that it? Do you, I don't know, pass on, vanish, turn into a bunch of blue butterflies?"
Greta tilted her head and frowned. She closed her eyes, as if expecting something, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes again, looking upset.
"Any ideas?" Ken asked his teammates, gesturing to Greta.
"I have one," a British voice said from behind them; Artemis immediately took a fighting stance, while Raven prepared a spell, but Ken quickly got between them and the new arrival.
"Wait, wait!" he said, "This is Professor Paradox, a friend of my dad's. He's a time-traveling superhero."
All three girls, living and dead, blinked in surprise, as Ken looked at Paradox.
"So, I guess you're here for whatever you were here for?"
"Precisely," Paradox said, then pulled out a brown paper bag. "Would anyone like a gumball?"
Ken glanced at Raven and Artemis. "Uh, no thanks."
Paradox shrugged, then walked up to Greta and kneeled in front of her. "Hello young lady. I understand that you're having trouble passing on, correct?"
"Secret," Greta said, nodding sadly.
"Well, I know a thing or two about not moving on," Paradox said, "Did you know that I've existed for over one hundred thousand years? All that time, just… existing. It can be awful, and incredibly lonely.
"Would you like to travel with me?" Greta tilted her head as Paradox continued. "I have all of eternity to explore time and space, but sadly, there aren't many who can travel with me for long. You, on the other hand, are a spirit that will not age, nor will you require any mortal sustenance; you and I are very similar, in fact. What do you say? A few centuries, at least? I promise that we'll look for a way to help you pass on, but in the meantime, are you up for an adventure?"
Greta looked at Ken, her eyes asking an unspoken question.
"My dad trusts him," Ken said, "And I trust my dad. Besides, Paradox told me where to find this place."
Greta smiled, first at Ken, then at Paradox.
"Wonderful!" Paradox beamed, "Now, first things first: I've already informed the authorities of what they will find here, so I'll just take the three of you back to Mount Justice. Is that all right?"
Ken looked at Artemis, who was covered in cuts and bruises, and at Raven, who still needed to have her head-injury looked at—on top of that, she was swaying on her feet quite a lot.
"That would be great, thanks," Ken said.
"Excellent," Paradox said, then pulled out his pocketwatch. "We'll be there right about—"
…
Mount Justice, 22:13 EDT
"—now," Paradox finished, and the three heroes and the ghost found themselves right outside the base.
"Whoa," Artemis said, then turned to Ken, "Your dad hangs out with some crazy people."
"Tell me about it," Ken muttered.
"I'll leave you three to get cleaned up," Paradox said, then smiled at Greta. "Shall we be off, Miss Hayes? Or would you prefer to be called Secret?"
"Secret," the ghost said with a smile, and this time, there was no mystery behind the word.
"Smashing! Oh, goodbye, Ken, and tell your father I said hello, would you?" Ken nodded, and Paradox held out his hand to Secret. "Come on, then, I'll show you the dinosaurs first."
Secret took the time-walker's hand, and the two of them vanished in a flash of blue light.
Raven looked at where they'd stood, then looked at her teammates. "Worst Halloween ever."
"I hear that," Artemis said, tiredly making her way to the Cave's entrance, "Next year, I'm just gonna stay home and watch scary movies."
…
Black Canary had started to worry; after Ken, Raven and Artemis had gone to, in Ken's words, 'blow off some steam', she had assumed they'd be back within an hour. It had been over two, and none of them were answering their comms. She was just about to call J'onn to try and locate them when Wolf, who had been asleep at her feet, picked his head up and whined.
Canary turned to see a thoroughly battered Ken, Raven and Artemis limp into the room. Ken's right arm was covered in dried blood, while his shoulder and chest were scorched. Raven had a nasty cut on her head, though it looked to be somewhat healed, and she was clearly exhausted; she was leaning on Artemis for support. The archer was covered in small cuts and bruises, her costume was torn and dirty, and her bow was gone.
Black Canary ran over to them, eyes wide in concern. "Good Lord, let's get you to the infirmary! What on Earth happened to you!?"
Ken, Raven and Artemis shared a tired smile, then answered as one.
"Secret."
…
San Francisco, 21:45 PDT
After getting chewed out by Black Canary, who had called in both Batman and Zatanna, the three teens told them what had happened. While they were lectured about how they should have called for help immediately, and the importance on taking backup communicators, the three were eventually sent home.
Ken was teleported into his living room, where his parents had been sitting together on the couch. Kara was on her feet the instant she saw the state her son was in.
"Ken, are you okay?" she gently wrapped her arms around him, careful not to touch any of his injuries, "Batman told us that you'd had a rough fight, but he didn't say that you were this hurt!"
"Mom, relax, I'll be fine," Ken assured her, "I got hit with some Chaos magic, which kinda hurt, but we got the guy in the end, and we were all okay."
Ben winced. "Ouch, I hate Chaos magic; reminds me of the fight with Grundy. You sure you're okay, though?"
Though Ben was concerned about his son's physical wounds, there was something about Ken's eyes that bugged him. Ken looked haunted, like he'd seen something he wanted to forget.
"Yeah, I'll be okay," Ken said, and for a moment, he looked like he'd aged ten years and had become a small child again at the same time. "Hey, is Jen awake? I want to talk to her for a minute."
His parents looked at each other worriedly for a moment, then nodded.
"Why don't you get cleaned up first?" Ben offered, "You don't want her seeing you like that, do you?"
Ken glanced down at his outfit—while the Kryptonian tech had repaired the holes, it was still dirty, and Ken clearly looked like he'd been in a bad fight—and smile wryly.
"I'll go take a shower first." Ken headed for the stairs, then hesitated. "Oh, Dad, I saw Professor Paradox tonight. He says hi."
Once he was upstairs, Ben raised an eyebrow at Kara. "Chaos magic and Professor Paradox? What happened tonight?"
"I don't know," Kara said, "but I think I'll go tell Jen to give her brother some extra TLC."
"Good idea," Ben gave her a quick kiss, "I'll stay here in case Batman decides to fill us in."
Kara nodded, then headed to her daughter's room; like most children's rooms, it had pictures of superheroes on the walls, though since Jen actually knew most of those heroes, almost every picture was autographed by its respective hero.
"Hi, Mom!" Jen said cheerfully as she finished sorting her candy from trick-or-treating, "Did Ken come home? I thought I heard his voice."
"Yeah, he's home, sweetie," Kara said, sitting next to Jen on her bed, "He's getting cleaned up, and then he wants to see you about something. I don't know what it's about, but I think he had a really bad night; think you could give him an extra hug when he comes in?"
Despite only being eleven years old, Jen was very perceptive when it came to being a superhero; a 'bad night' could mean something far worse than what most people considered 'bad'.
"Okay, sure," she said, shoving her candy away; it wasn't as important as a brother who needed her.
Kara kissed her daughter on the top of her head. "Thanks, sweetie. Once Ken leaves, however, I want you to go to bed, okay?"
"Sure, fine," Jen said, rolling her eyes.
Once her mother was gone, Jen waited patiently for Ken to arrive; a few minutes later, he did, wearing pajama pants and a white t-shirt.
"Hey, Jen," he said, waving a hand, "How was Halloween?"
"Great!" Jen gestured to her pile of candy. "This is what I got in just a couple of hours! The rest is in the pantry."
"Awesome," Ken said, sitting next to her; Jen noticed that his right forearm was bandaged.
"You got hurt," she said.
Ken nodded. "Yeah… I didn't exactly have the best night."
The two of them sat there in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Ken gave his sister a hug.
"Hey, Jen?" Ken said, "You know that I'd never hurt you, right?"
Jen blinked at him. "Of course I know that. You're my big brother."
For some reason, that made Ken hold onto her even tighter. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for reminding me."
Jen didn't know why her brother was acting like this, but she hugged him back anyway. "Happy Halloween, Ken."
"Happy Halloween." Ken took a deep breath, then smiled. "So, what part of your haul are you going to give me?"
Jen jumped away and tried scooping up the pile of candy. "Mine, all mine!"
The two spent the next few hours mock-teasing each other over everything, from whether or not Jen would join the Team, to when Ken would propose to Valerie. Eventually, Ken said goodnight and went to his room. Jen went to bed soon after, satisfied that her mission was complete; Ken had come into her room looking like he had been through hell, but he'd left with a smile on his face.
"Big brothers," Jen said to herself as she drifted off to sleep, "They always need their sisters to take care of them."
I really did not like Harm. Don't get me wrong, he's a pretty neat villain, even if his puns annoyed me, but really… he killed his little sister! That's just so evil! Ugh, if I'd had Ken do what I really wanted, I'd have to up the rating for this story. I'd like to thank Vanessa Masters for that line Harm had about Ken being pure; thanks for being so delightfully twisted, Vanessa!
So, some things to talk about:
Paradox: Yeah, it's been 21 chapters, and now he's in this. Don't expect him to have much of an impact for the rest of Part 1, however; I just wanted Secret to remain in this story. You'll be seeing more of both of them in Part 2 and Part 3.
Ken's rage: If you don't know by now, Ken loves his little sister. Seeing someone who would kill their own sister is anathema to him; honestly, if Harm hadn't been enhanced by the sword, he'd have been killed. Speaking of which…
Harm and the Chaos magic: Okay, so the Sword of Beowulf does not use Chaos magic. I made that up. However, Ken can absorb some forms of magic, particularly those in the form of beams, lightning and fire. Chaos magic, at least in my story—remember how Grundy wiped the floor with Ben, Supergirl and Superman in Ben 10: Unlimited—is kind of like Apokolips tech/powers. Normal rules go out the window. Also, Harm may have been magically enhanced in the show, but I made him tougher, because if I didn't, Ken would have beaten him down in the first five minutes.
The lack of the party: In the show, there was a party going on that had the other members of the Team pulling a prank. I decided that I didn't want to take away from the action, so I didn't put it in.
Now, I have an announcement: I'm taking a short break. Now, before you freak out, I want to say that it won't be another two-month hiatus. First of all, I've given you 7 chapters in just over two weeks. I did this because I really wanted to have this chapter go up on Halloween. Go me. However, I have two other stories that I've been neglecting; my Doctor Who/Transformers Prime story, for example, should have been finished a month ago, but I got distracted. For now, my plan is to finish that story, do a chapter of Outcast Effect, then alternate between that one and this one. Don't worry, I'll probably be back to Unlimited Justice in a few weeks, a month at the latest.
Happy Halloween!
Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see, this, our town of Halloween! This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Muffins scream in the dead of night! This is Halloween, everybody make a scene! Trick-or-treat, 'til the muffins gonna die of fright!