So here is "The Hunt; the four teenagers going to the WarWorld and team up with Arsenal to save the Team; and M'gann and Nightwing investigating the Team's disappearance. Arsenal gets kicked off the Team towards the end and the four teenagers; with the newly added Arsenal, decide to end their partnership with Luthor. After this chapter is "Intervention" and I can say this; it's going to be on the long-side. It's meant to be about curing Blue Beetle but between that is Angelee's Prom and Graduation; that means we're getting close to the ending. Thank you all for sticking with me through the series; you all are the best. Please enjoy and review.
Disclaimers in chapters 1, 5 and 18
Chapter 21-The Hunt
~Gotham City-Nicki's House, May29th, 12:14~
Sitting on the couch in Nicki's living room, TJ was watching TV when a press conference of the Reach Ambassador interrupted his cartoons,
"And in addition to our joint scientific advancements, the Earth has also gained a new hero. One part human individual, one part Reach technology. Blue Beetle is the living embodiment of the peaceful union between our peoples," TJ snorted at the TV, "Plus, he saved us all from the WarWorld. Not too shabby," The Ambassador and the crowd erupted into applause, "and this is only the beginning. Just imagine what the future holds when together, we reach for tomorrow." A little girl approached the state; the Ambassador stepping down and kneeling to her height, "Greetings young one. Do you have a question?"
The little girl with brown hair in pigtails and ribbons in them was holding a Wonder Woman doll,
"Uh… I thought the Justice League protected the Earth. Why didn't they stop the WarWorld?"
"Uh hello!" TJ screamed at the TV, "They did! They were responsible for holding back the missiles! Bet that so called Ambassador won't tell you that!" He was so much like Angelee; she yelled at the TV too.
The Ambassador sighed,
"I wonder about that too. Just as I wonder why they seem to attract so many outer space bullies to your planet. Maybe the WarWorld was a bully too big for the League to handle. Good thing your new friends The Reach were here to protect you." The Ambassador was charismatic and Blue Beetle putting the little girl on his shoulders only added to the public appeal, "The threat that was the WarWorld is now a new hope for mankind; a weapon to defend your planet. We, The Reach, will safeguard this weapon without boarding it, until such time as humanity is ready to assume control. The WarWorld is our gift to you!"
The crowd erupted into more cheers and applause; TJ turning the TV and throwing the TV on the couch,
"Ugh I wish I could smack that blue alien jerk!"
Nicki laughed,
"Why are you torturing yourself with this TJ?" Placing two plates with sandwiches, Nicki sat beside him, "Yelling at the TV isn't going to help."
"It helps me get my anger out."
Laughing again, Nicki shook her head,
"You are definitely Angelee's cousin; she yells at the TV too. Try not to think about it; Dick and The Team will handle The Reach."
"I know but…" sighing, TJ took a bite, "What do you think is happening on the WarWorld right now?"
Nicki shrugged,
"I don't know. But whatever is happening, let's just hope it involves the Team."
~The WarWorld, May 30th, 03:36, Nightwing and Miss Martian's POV~
The newly returned Miss Martian sat in the front; Nightwing at the helm. Miss Martian's eyes were green as she scanned the surface of the WarWorld for any sign of the Team,
"Anything?"
Miss Martian sighed,
"No, I'm sorry. I can't sense any of them. But the WarWorld is so big they could easily be out of range.
"We've been flying this surface grid pattern for hours. And… and you're exhausted."
"I'm fine. I… I can do this."
Quickly recovering, Nightwing explained,
"Of course! But there's no need to over-tax yourself so soon after your kidnapping." He knew the mental damage of being kidnapped; and the telepathic strain she went through. Angelee went through the same, "Besides, we're not giving up. We'll start over where the Team first disappeared. Look for a new lead." If only he could do the energy reveal spell Angelee could do; they'd easily find them then.
"Alright. If you think it best."
They flew outside the surface for a while until they reached the docking bay. Docking, they went back to bay where the Team disappeared; unaware that the teenagers, Tye, Asami, Eduardo and Virgil were there looking for the Team as well. Nightwing had a holo-screen up on his wristband and was scanning the area again.
"Haven't you already scanned every inch of this place already?"
"Yeah but I'm obviously capable of missing obvious clues." He scanned the bay again, "I totally should have spotted evidence of Blue Beetle's defection after Green Beetle fixed his scarab."
"That's my fault." Miss Martian put a hand on Nightwing's shoulder, "You asked me to scan Green's mind, and I vouched for him without delving deep. I was so afraid to use my powers after what I did to Aqualad. I allowed Green Beetle and his scarab to feed me exactly what the Reach wanted us to believe. So Blue trusted him and was turned by him, then somehow abducted the Team," lowering her head, Miss Martian felt awful, "all on me."
It was time for him to play the Leader; the comforter. He gripped both her arms and took responsibility,
"Except you never would have been in that position if I had trusted you with the secret of Aqualad's deep cover mission. I put you, Aqualad, Artemis, the whole team… in unacceptable danger. Because of me…" Nightwing sighed and lowered his head too, "Angelee had to come out of hiding… only to get captured and betrayed by someone she trusted."
"So… this is our guilt-off. I say I messed up, and then you say you messed up worse. Dick… we both made mistakes. And we both need to get over ourselves. Save the Team, then save Blue. As a certain 13-year old was once fond of saying… that's just what we do." Nightwing smiled, "See… I can play keep-Dick-calm person too." Screeching and clattering came behind a hatch door; both getting ready to attack. But the sound of beeping relaxed them; they knew that sound. From the hatch and smoke came a large ball, "Sphere! Ha ha!" Nightwing and Miss Martian hugged it; they were thrilled to see her. Gasping, Miss Martian thought of something, "Can you take us to Superboy?"
Sphere revved a few times then changed into the SuperCycle; she was able to find Superboy and in turn, the Team.
"I think that's a yes."
~Gotham City, TJ's POV~
He was watching the TV again. His teacher assigned the class to watch that night's show of Godfrey as the Reach Ambassador was meant to be on. TJ hated his teacher; she was fond of The Reach and was interested in the class's opinions. Nicki was hesitant to have him write about it; she knew how TJ felt and she was afraid he'd anger his teacher.
"Nicki I have to; it's homework."
"I know Tj but… I know how you feel about them and I know how your teacher feels. I don't want you to anger her and cause problems that Angelee and Dick are going to have to fix."
TJ clicked to the right channel; notebook and pencil ready,
"I'll let you read it after it's done okay? That way if I say something that might be too strong I can change it. Deal?"
Sighing, Nicki rubbed her face,
"Deal. Just try to be nice while getting your feelings across."
began talking,
"And now, an old friend of our program; the Reach Ambassador," The Ambassador sat down and nodded to the camera, "welcome back to the show Ambassador."
"Always a pleasure ."
TJ began to write his assignment; Nicki leaving to go into the kitchen and do the dishes.
~The WarWorld, The four teenagers~
Tye, in an astral, opened a hatch door leading to a holding bay filled with pods; people frozen inside. Looking through them, Virgil stopped and saw them,
"Oh man. There they are."
"Looks like they're frozen." Eduardo was right; everyone was motionless… unable to move. Not even Crane's telepathy worked.
"They're in statis," a loud, deep voice came from behind them; it was Black Beetle, "And you will join them soon enough." He came closer.
Virgil knew what they were up against; he knew it wasn't going to be good,
"Guys, I saw this freak take down all these heroes back on The Reach ship."
"Please, don't let that stop you from attacking me. I could use the exercise." Black Beetle antagonized them.
Thinking he could handle him, Tye in his astral leapt for him. But Beetle was ready as his thrusters opened and he hit the astral in the face; knocking it over. Flying above it, Black's arm changed into a pulse cannon and hit the astral; disintegrating it. Tye screamed in pain as the astral faded; Tye was knocked out.
"Please tell me he did not just take out our big gun in three seconds flat?" Eduardo wanted to make sure Virgil saw the same thing he did.
"Scatter!" Virgil saw an incoming pulse from Black; the three remaining teenagers attempted to run. But the pulses were too quick; each one getting hit. Asami hung over a pod; Virgil slamming against another before they both slipped to the floor.
"So much for exercise." Black was disappointed and unimpressed, "Alright meat, might as well teleport yourself into a statis cell," Eduardo was hiding behind a wall; knowing all too well he didn't stand a chance on his own, "and save me the trouble." Black had his back to Eduardo; Eduardo's back turned from the wall. From it, a small opening, followed by an orange laser over Eduardo's shoulder and grazed Black's scarab. Behind it was Arsenal who jumped from the opening. Using his grappling hook from his robotic arm, he swung down to the ground then ran over to a control panel on the wall next to a door. Pressing a large blue button, the door sealed shut; forbidding any more Reach patrollers from entering. They were sealed out; but the Team, the teenagers and Black Beetle were sealed in too. Arsenal pulled out the two staffs he successfully scrounged from patrollers; Eduardo teleporting to his side,
"Gracias Amigo. Um… who are you?"
Tossing the spare staff to Eduardo, Arsenal readied himself,
"The guy who will save your butts if you listen carefully. You can't beat Black Beetle head on, but keep him off balance and we might just stand a chance."
~Gotham City, TJ's POV~
"So you see, , The Reach is all about intergalactic brotherhood."
"A lovely sentiment. So, please explain to the good folks at home how it squares with the lies you told us and the fleet of warships you hid beneath our oceans!"
The Ambassador tried to calm the tension,
"I think you're forgetting that those ships helped Blue Beetle save the world from…" he was cut off by a clip of himself saying, 'Unfortunately, The Reach only has this single ship, designed for peaceful exploration and diplomacy and unequipped with any weapons'.
"Now…" dug the knife deeper into The Ambassador's public view, "I don't know what you call that on your world, Ambassador, but on planet Earth we call it a bold faced lie!" Rising to his feet, was in The Ambassador's face, "How many more lies are you hiding beneath our seas, and how much more propaganda will you ask the human race," a can of Reach was held in his right hand, "to swallow and wash down with a nice, cold Reach?" The Ambassador clenched his teeth; he wasn't happy with what was happening.
"Serves you right." TJ wrote the last sentence to his assignment, "Nicki!" He called Nicki in from the kitchen, "I'm done with my homework."
"Is it nicely said?"
"Yes," Nicki narrowed her eyes at him, "Do you want me to read it to you?"
"Go ahead."
Looking down at the notebook in his lap, TJ began to read,
"In today's day and age, in the year 2016, Earth has seen many mighty heroes defend it and the people from things we normal humans could not do ourselves. In recent months, an alien race known as The Reach has come to Earth seeking diplomacy and getting to know and understand the way of Earth. Though we here in the States don't know what others around the world think of the Reach, the States and the United Nations seem to have taken a liking to them. It almost seems like they've casted a spell on us humans to accept them and welcome their visit. It seems to have worked on many people around me; my friends and teachers included, but not on me. I am very suspicious of their visit. Why choose Earth? Now I know we can all ask the same questions about some alien members of the Justice League but the League, to me, isn't going around doing constant press conference to approve their public appeal. The League is full of heroes who don't care about what the public think of them; they're going to continue to do what's right… and that's to protect the Earth from invaders and other things our military forces can't protect us from on their own. On the Godfrey show tonight, when brought up the lie that the Ambassador told the United Nations that The Reach only had that single ship, The Ambassador clenched his teeth in anger that he was caught in a lie. Now I understand that everybody lies but if you're here trying to prove yourself to be a friendly race, don't hide the large amount of warships you have hiding beneath the waters of the very planet you claim to be partnered with; unless you're trying to hide something. Again, the same can be said about the League and the newly revealed orbiting Watchtower, which is extremely understandable. But what is The Reach hiding? And why do they care so much about how Earth views them? They aren't true heroes. True heroes don't become heroes to receive graces from the public eye; they become heroes because it's the right thing to do. The Justice League are the true heroes of Earth because they aren't in front of the camera trying to win Earth's graces; they save and protect the Earth and its people because it's the right thing to do. I will be thrilled when The Reach leaves; hopefully, they'll never show their faces on Earth again." Nicki was floored, "So… is it okay?"
"Where did you learn to write like that? That's incredible!"
Chuckling, TJ shrugged,
"My Mom used to tell me that all Trivoyians are gifted with a special talent. I know Angelee's is drawing, I guess mine is writing. Hers was healing, she knew someone whose talent was singing, and another's was playing instruments."
"Wow… Angelee never told me that."
"She might not have known. I know she doesn't know as much about Trivoyian as I do. But is this okay to hand in?"
"Yeah it's perfect. You made a very valid argument," Nicki smiled down at TJ who smiled back, "alright time for bed kid."
TJ whined,
"Do I have to?"
Laughing, Nicki nodded,
"If you want to turn in that assignment of yours then yes, bed time."
"Alright…" Gathering his things, TJ got off the couch, "goodnight Nicki."
"Goodnight Tj." They hugged; Nicki kissing the top of his head, "See you in the morning for breakfast." Even though TJ was only there for a few days, Nicki looked at him as a younger brother; he was like that with everybody on the Team; even Conner. She promised to look after him and treat him just like a brother and that's what she was doing. Though she had to admit, she liked having a kid around that actually listened and looked up to her; which TJ did. He looked up to her after finding out she became Outrage to avenge her Mother; and stuck beside Angelee even when she found out Angelee was Black Crane; he loved her for that. She watched TJ go upstairs; the thought of having a 10year old around again and seeing the way he interacted with her brothers, Angelee, Dick and herself brought back memories of Jason. It's been over two years since he died; she didn't even get a chance to tell him good-bye. Every so often she'd lay in her bed and think about him; remember the nights on top of the rooftops talking about their problems. She still had the mask Angelee gave her and every so often she'd hold it between her fingers. She never discovered what color his eyes were; she never saw him without his mask on. How much she missed him; how much she wished he was still here. Sighing in depression, she returned to the kitchen to start the dishwasher then headed upstairs to get to sleep. Since Angelee was missing, she had to take over as President of Student Government and the Prom Committee had a huge meeting tomorrow; Prom was that Friday and everything had to be finalized. Not to mention she still had to talk to Dick about having the Team help decorate, "Hopefully Angelee is found before Prom." She climbed into bed. But her eye caught a picture on her nightstand beside her; an old picture of Jason in his Robin suit smiled at her. Smiling back, Nicki reached under her pillow and pulled out his old mask, "I'll always love you Jason; always." She held the mask tight against her body then shut her eyes; falling asleep.
~The WarWorld, Normal POV~
With the help of Eduardo and the other teenagers, Arsenal was keeping Black Beetle off his game; and he wasn't enjoying. First trying to attack Arsenal with his pulse cannon, Arsenal easily rolled to avoid; but Black wasn't as lucky as Eduardo used the staff from Arsenal to shoot Black in the back. He quickly teleported when Black aimed at him but it was useless; Eduardo was too fast and fired at him again from another angle. The newly recovered Tye; in astral form, backhanded Black against the wall; he fell to the ground. Flying again, Virgil used his electromagnetism to magnify an empty pod and hurled it at Black. With his pulse cannon, he easily smashed it and sent more towards Virgil who used his garbage can lid to protect himself. Behind Black was Asami who used her power; chi manipulation (according to young justice wikia…) to bounce him off balance. Turning around to try to hit her, Eduardo used it to his him in the scarab again with the staff. Turning towards him, Black was greeted with an astral punch from Tye and went flying through empty pods; finally landing on the ground,
"I am starting to get annoyed." Thrusters open again; he took off to deal with the teenagers while Arsenal was on a pod trying to open it.
Pressing the wrong sequence of buttons, it beeped at him,
"Ugh I really hate that sound."
Eduardo teleported behind him,
"We're throwing everything we've got at this desperado and we're barely holding our own," Arsenal continued to press buttons, "shouldn't we be freeing some of the good guys?"
"No…" Flipping back, Arsenal used to staff to shot the pod. Disrupting the circuits, the reddish coloring faded around Mongul; freeing him who grunted.
"Uh Amigo," Eduardo teleported next to Arsenal who jumped to the ground, "you don't seem clear on who we're here to rescue."
Arsenal put his right arm across Eduardo's body as he began to back up,
"Trust me, I'm clear." Crazy idea… but genius.
Mongul looked up and saw Black Beetle fighting with the other teenagers; Black noticed him,
"Mongul! This is all your fault!"
"Reach…" Mongul rose to his feet; Black charging at him. Both grunting, they began to fight each other.
"You guys free the Team! There's something I need to get!" Arsenal ran off after telling the teens to free the others.
Eduardo followed Arsenal's previous idea and used the staff to shot the pod holding Robin, Guardian and Beast Boy. Soon the pods containing; Wonder Girl, Bumble Bee and Impulse; Batgirl, Wolf and Superboy were opened. Eduardo teleported next to Superboy and held him up,
"Come on Supernino…"
Opening a door, Arsenal flipped around the corner expecting to see Reach Patrollers. But none were there; it was empty. Behind him was the crystal key holder; that too was empty. But above that was another pod with the Team's gear. Arsenal came back with the gear; the entire Team was released. Crane was being supported by Virgil and Amazon; Guardian next to Bumble Bee.
"Let's go, move!" Everyone followed behind Arsenal; Virgil and Amazon dragging a weak Crane, "Okay, get ready. There's a squad of Reach soldiers waiting for us." His hand touched the panel; he and the four teenagers prepared themselves; Virgil handing Crane over to Amazon and Bandicoot. But to their surprise, all the soldiers were down; Miss Martian and Nightwing already taking them. Running over, Arsenal was smiling, "Hey fearless leader. Better late than never."
"Everyone safe?"
Arsenal looked at the Team,
"For now."
"The Crystal Key?"
"Gone! And we better get done too before one of them declares a winner."
"Right. Move out." Nightwing looked at Crane in Amazon's and Bandicoot's arm. He went to ask,
"I'm fine."
"We got her," Amazon nodded to him, "lead the way."
Nodding, Miss Martian and Nightwing led the way to the bay to board the bio-ship.
"All aboard. We're almost home free." Miss Martian opened the hatch of the bio-ship. Impulse, Superboy and Beast Boy were first on with Miss Martian followed by Guardian and Bumble Bee. Bee stopped on the side as Guardian continued in. By now, Amazon and Bandicoot handed Crane off to Nightwing as they went inside.
"I think congratulations are in order," Nightwing smiled at the teenagers, "no training, no guidance. And yet you pulled it off. When we get back, after a debrief, there might be a place for all of you with the Team."
Virgil was excited,
"Wow… really?"
But Tye had another opinion,
"So now that we saved your butts, you're cool with us not being Star Labs guinea pigs."
"Dude chill."
"Before we head back," Arsenal sliced the tension and changed the subject, "we need to talk about Blue Beetle. He betrayed us."
"Look who's talking," Karen interrupted, "last thing I remember is YOU blowing an airlock without warning. Nearly got us all killed and absolutely guaranteed our capture."
Arsenal defended his actions,
"Hey after 8years on ice, there's no way I was getting grabbed again. And in case you hadn't noticed, my escape resulted in you bring free now to stand and complain. So how about a thank you."
"You're right Arsenal," Nightwing turned him around, "thank you. And after we get back to Earth, you're off the Team."
Crane's mouth dropped,
"Whoa… Night…" she weakly hobbled over, "what are you doing? He just saved us!"
"Wait, wait a minute!" Tye couldn't believe it either.
Virgil got on the defense track too,
"If it wasn't for Arsenal we wouldn't have rescued anyone."
"That may be. But this isn't the first time he's pulled this kind of stunt. Intentionally endangering the lives of Teammates in order to further his own agenda or guards against his own personal demons, it's unacceptable. So until you prove yourself a team player, you have no place on this Team."
"I could say the same for you." Crane was angry; she carefully walked into the bio-ship alone.
"Let's get aboard and get out of here." Nightwing and Karen began to walk into the bio-ship, "We can discuss this further when we're not behind enemy lines."
The four teenagers looked at each other; Eduardo speaking first,
"Sounds like there's nothing left to discuss."
"See, we don't need your help getting back to Earth, or your offer to join the Team. We have our own way of doing things."
"What do you say bro, wanna ride with us?" Tye extended an olive branch to Arsenal.
"Sounds like a plan."
Reaching in her pocket, Asami pulled out a box; Nightwing instantly recognized it.
"Wait is that a…?"
"Home please." Asami spoke to the Father Box; a boom tube appearing beneath their feet.
Karen and Nightwing knew it was true; they were working for Luthor. Dragging themselves onto the bio-ship, they didn't say anything to anyone. Karen sat next to Guardian, Nightwing beside Crane who was sitting on the floor against a wall.
"You're not going to talk to me are you?" She didn't say anything to him, "I had to kick him off the Team Angel… he endangered the Team; he endangered you."
"Like I said, I could say the same thing about you."
Sighing, Nightwing held her right hand,
"I know… and I'm still paying for that."
"But we didn't kick you off did we?"
"No you just almost killed me," Nightwing nudged her while she smiled, "but you have to admit, he is worrying about not getting taken again."
"But can you blame him? After all, he did miss 8years of his life and was replaced with a clone of himself," Crane actually looked at him, "I don't blame him boy… after all, if he was taken like us, we wouldn't be free."
Sighing again, Nightwing smiled,
"Yeah but he needs to learn to be a Team player; like Red did. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Night; I promise; just weak. I'll recover," Crane's head rested on Nightwing's shoulder, "don't worry about me."
Wrapping his left arm around her, Nightwing held her,
"I was worried about you," again, nothing came from Crane, "Angel?" Looking down, she was asleep. Smiling, he rested his head on top of her, "Let's go home."
So there is "The Hunt". I'm planning on getting another episode up today but we'll see; going to the midnight premiere of Man of Steel tonight. So next is "Intervention"; the cure of Blue Beetle, Angelee's Prom and her graduation. I have an awesome idea for her Prom so I'm looking forward to getting that done. Only three more episodes left then we're done with the series and onto the epilogue. Right now, it's going to be a whole separate story. A lot is planned for it so I'm really looking forward to writing it. I hope everyone enjoyed and continues to read. Please review.