Hey readers, part 2 of Homefront is here. The next chapter is part one of Alpha Male… so we're one episode closer to my own episodes. I'm so excited; I'm really enjoying this now. Please review with thoughts, suggestions and opinions.
Disclaimer in chapter 1
Chapter 21-Homefront Part 2
~Robin and Artemis's POV~
Running through the tunnels, the android's voice counted down the time,
"8 minutes!"
"We can access the hanger from here." A wall of water came through the tunnels, "Or not."
"Will you stop saying that!?" Artemis grabbed his arm and pulled him through the tunnel.
The tunnel quickly filled with water. Pulling out a regulator, Robin took a few breaths and shared with Artemis. Taking a few breaths herself, she felt something grab her ankle and drag her through the water. Beginning to panic, Robin played the part of hero and acted quickly. Grabbing an arrow that was floating in the water, he swam over and jammed it through the android's eye; releasing his grip on Artemis' ankle. Pulling her free, Robin used a grappling hook to suction to the back wall; dragging them through the water. Behind him, bombs were left in a trail as a little surprise for the android.
"Robin… hurry… the others… running… time…"
Coming above the surface in the hanger, they took large breaths of air.
"LOOK OUT!"
A fire ball landed in the water behind them. Swimming under water to avoid the fire balls, they appeared next to Kid and Superboy.
~Normal POV~
"You guys okay?"
"Forget us! Help M'gann!" Superboy nudged his head above him to the cage.
Artemis worried,
"Aqualad! Is she…?"
"She is unconscious. I fear she… we… cannot survive much longer."
Having to dodge another fire ball before he could ask about Crane, Robin and Artemis dove beneath the water. Swimming over to the stairs, they were cornered by the water android behind them and the fire android at the top.
"I'm almost out of arrows."
"Distract her! Now!"
Artemis fired an explosive arrow at the fire android while he threw BataRangs at the water android at the bottom. Waiting for the attack, water and fire were aimed at them. Diving into the water again, they swam into a vent; leaving the others once again.
~Artemis and Robin's POV~
Forced to climb into another vent, they sat to catch their breath.
"6 MINUTES!"
"What do we do now?" Artemis had lost control; she was panicking.
Being calm and collected, Robin told her exactly what they were going to do,
"We save them. That's how it works."
"Maybe that's how it's SUPPOSED to work but those robots already took out our 5 SUPERPOWERED friends!"
Robin snickered,
"You seem distraught."
Artemis lost it; she went off the cliff,
"Distraught! M'gann is dying! We have no powers," she held her last arrow, "and I'm down to my last arrow of course I'm distraught!"
Robin was harsh,
"Well get traught or get dead!" Robin started to crawl through the vent.
"How can you be so calm?"
"Practice… I've been doing this since I was 9. Besides, I live with Crane… if you would've known the trouble she used to get herself into when she first started…"
"What good is that gonna do now? What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?" Artemis was crawling behind him.
Robin sighed; another rookie he had to train,
"Duh! They're machines! And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range." He smiled.
Sarcastically, Artemis mocked him,
"Great! Except you better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt because I know I don't have one in my quiver."
"Fresh out," he was being a smart-allic, "but I'm betting we can make one," he talked into his com, "what do you say K.F? Doable?"
Artemis heard,
"Totally doable,"
"FIVE MINUTES!"
Kid continued,
"If… we have more time."
"Kid… do me a favor… keep an eye on Crane for me. Let me know how she is."
"You got it."
Robin and Artemis crawled through the vents,
"Med lab; x-ray machine," Robin heard through the com, "you'll find a small vacuum tube called a Vircator that converts high energy pulses; reprogram the units microwave conversion from x-ray to EMP's with a cascading energy vector directed outward." Robin had hacked the unit and changed the unit; then rotated the tube outward and took it out.
"The Ripple Effect. Like dropping a stone in a pond."
"A stone with 10 to the 12th wattage yeah."
Robin was looking over the stats,
"So I'll need to hook it up to the Cave's main generator."
"Which is where?" Artemis really tried to understand everything.
Robin showed no emotion,
"The hanger."
~Crane, Superboy, Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Aqualad's POV~
The android's stood next to Aqualad's fire cage
"4MINUTES!"
"Kid… how is Crane doing?"
"She's… weak…but hanging in there."
Superboy looked at Kid,
"Why aren't you telling him? She's blacked out."
"I know… that's one less he needs to worry about."
~Normal POV~
Robin and Artemis landed in a corridor leading to the hanger. Robin talked on the com,
"Okay… make with the distraction."
Kid hollered,
"Hey! Red Tomato! Who's your girlfriend; Red Onion?"
Superboy got in on the act,
"Yeah! And by the way, worst death trap ever! We can escape anytime we want."
"I can vibrate my molecules out of here before your binary brains can count to two!"
"Cover me." Robin sneaked around the corner; propelling him down to the main generator. He opened the hatch and put the tube in a slot, "re-routing power now," he scanned the hanger, "it's not working," he looked at the tube, "the circuits incomplete. I need… something conductable. A piece of metal or…" he searched his utility belt.
"Robin look out!" Artemis yelled at him.
Water engulfed Robin on the generator… he was gone. Artemis armed her last arrow but had to dodge a fire ball and the arrow went to the side of the water android. Fleeing the scene, Artemis went through the vents again. Finding a torn spot, she looked into the hanger. Seeing Robin in a water tendril unconscious, Artemis gasped and leaned against the opposite wall. She saw images of her friends in danger; time running short. Curled in a ball, she began to cry.
"No… no no no…"
~Crane, Aqualad, Miss Martian, Kid, Superboy and Robin's POV~
Aqualad saw Robin fall to floor; unconscious,
"It is up to Artemis now…" he looked over at Crane's cage, "come on Artemis… you can do it." He passed out now. The only two still conscious were strapped to plaster with water up to their chins.
~Artemis' POV~
"I surrender. I surrender I die with the others," she was still curled in a ball, "but if I find a way out," she began to crawl through the vent, "out of the cave… out of the mountain… I can get help…Call in the League…" She slid through the vents. Screaming, she landed in Kid's souvenir room.
"3MINUTES!" The android's voice resonated through the Cave.
Artemis sighed and sat up,
"Who am I kidding?" She held her shoulder, "Best I can do is hide. Hope the League finds me before the Reds," she stood in front of the souvenirs; focusing on the Chesire mask, "I know you understand." She had a flashback of her childhood. She held the mask in her hand, "That might've been true in our family. But I've found a new family. And here, we'll all for one and…"
"1MINUTE!" The booming voice distracted her.
She saw the arrow and her mind clicked.
~Normal POV in hanger~
The hanger elevator doors opened; Artemis carrying her bow,
"I surrender. Stop the clock!"
Artemis looked around the hanger; Robin unconscious from drowning, Miss Martian unconscious from the heat, Crane unconscious… Kid and Superboy trapped in plaster; water rising over their faces. The Reds held out their hands; ready to take her bow. Jumping out of the way, she kicked one of them in the face and stepping on the other. Arming the bow with the arrow, she fired it; aiming for the generator. The lights flickered on the generator, sending an electromagnetic pulse; shutting off every machine in the hanger. The Reds fell to the ground; powered off. The fire cage containing Aqualad and Miss Martian disappeared, the fire and water cage holding Crane gone… the water covering Kid and Superboy receding.
"Kaldur!" Superboy called up, "How's M'gann?"
"She breathes. I believe she will recover," Aqualad glanced to Crane then Robin, "What of Robin and Crane?"
Artemis ran over to Robin; dropping her bow. Staring at him, he started coughing. She smiled,
"He's… he's breathing too!"
He breathed deeply,
"Way…way to… get traught," his smile soon left his face, "how's Crane?"
Artemis saw her body; lying unconscious,
"I… I… I don't know…" she crawled over, "Black Crane…" she shook her body, "Crane…" Artemis frowned, "nothing." Robin and Aqualad stared. Robin attempted to move but had no strength, "Here," Artemis dragged him over to her body, "let me help."
Robin stared down at Crane's face; her face was colorless,
"Angel…" Robin felt for a pulse, "come on… stay with me." He started to perform CPR; but nothing worked.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Her body went into shock. Being trapped in a water/fire cage too long confused her body. She can deal with one but not both… her life force was used to sustain her life for a duration of time. But it ran out."
"What do you have to do?"
Robin cupped Crane's face between his hands. Shutting his eyes to focus, they became orange. He entered her mind.
~Crane's mind~
Running around with a small dog, Angelee saw her parents sitting on a porch with some business partners.
"Come on Jax! Come get me!"
The dog barked and started chasing her around the garden. Tripping over a rock, Angelee skinned her knee and started crying. The dog crawled into her lap after licking her knee.
"Angelee!" Someone came around a bush, "Thank god I found you."
"Robin…" Angelee didn't understand, "what are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"Are you alright? What do you remember?"
Angelee's eyes lit up,
"Come on," she pulled his arm, "there are two people I want you to meet."
"Angelee…" Robin tried to stop her, "Angelee stop!"
Freezing in her tracks, Angelee didn't understand,
"What is wrong with you? I want to introduce you to my parents; they'll love you!"
Robin put his hands on her shoulders,
"We're not at your house Angelee! We're in your mind; this isn't real!"
"What are you talking about? Of course this is real. See," she pointed to a burn on her back "I got this from practicing the fire control."
"No you didn't. You got it from a lava ball hitting you in the back. The Cave was attacked; trapped you in a water/fire cage," Angelee looked at her parents, "they aren't real Angel. They're just a projection of your mind because this is where you feel comfortable," an orange light appeared behind Robin, "come back to me. Get out of your mind. The attack if over; we won."
Not wanting to leave but figuring out Robin was right, Angelee stepped through the orange light; coming back to Mount Justice.
~Mount Justice Normal POV~
Gasping for air, Crane coughed while Robin puffed out of air.
"What… just happened?"
"Now that…" Crane leaned on an elbow, "the cage is gone, my powers were able to function again," she held her head, "so the mental link between Robin and I was re-opened. He was able to enter my mind and pull me back." Crane helped Robin up.
"We should get you to the medical bay."
"I'm fine. You should be the one in there with Miss M…"
They went down next to Kid and Superboy. Everyone was confused on what happened,
"Figured my only shot was to 'surrender'; pretend to drown before I actually did. Blacked out though." Robin shrugged.
Superboy was concerned about Miss Martian,
"M'gann." They held each other's hands.
"I'll be fine." She had an arm around Aqualad's neck.
Artemis held a laser,
"Will you stop playing with that thing and cut us free already?"
"It's not working genius! EMP shuts down all machines remember?"
"All machines within present at the time," Red Tornado hovered in, "what has occurred?"
Robin supported Crane who had grown weak since she regained consciousness,
"A little visit from… your family."
"Your extremely NASTY family!" Artemis was cruel.
Red Tornado was shocked like the others,
"I was not aware I had relations..."
Superboy grew suspicious,
"Where have you been?"
"Monitor duty on the WatchTower. When it became clear Cave communications were down," Tornado examined the down Reds, "I attempted to investigate; but zeta tubes were also non-functional," he leaned closer to the Reds, "I transported to Providence and proceeded here."
Sphere was awaken; coming out of the wall.
"Hey Boy!"
The laser to free Kid worked as well.
"The pulse has worn off!" Robin and Kid said together.
"Uh oh."
Unsure what was happening, the kids felt the air began to escape. Tornado began to suck the air from the hanger; his eyes glowing red like the others did before. One by one, the team dropped like flies. Artemis clutching her throat,
"Can't… breath…" She passed out.
~FF an unknown amount of time~
"Artemis… Artemis… can you hear me," Artemis blinked, "she's alright!" Superman helped her stand. Before them stood Green Arrow, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Captain Atom, Flash and Aquaman. Batman was with Robin getting the details, Atom cutting Superboy free, Aquaman checking on Aqualad, Manhunter comforting M'gann, Flash freeing Kid and Robin holding Crane. Superman was confused, "what happened here?"
Artemis couldn't believe what she just heard from Superman,
"What happened? The Reds happened! Tornado and his…" she didn't see them around, "wait? Where are they?"
"Gone," Robin was angry, "all three of them…gone."
Artemis was in shock,
"What do you mean they're gone?"
"They're not here and Red Tornado isn't at the WatchTower," Superman informed, "the last we saw him, he was leaving the Tower to come here."
"Who were they?"
Crane huffed,
"From what I was able to determine after examining my back," she had a large bandage behind her cape, "Red Torpedo and Red Inferno… I don't know where they came from or who made them. All I know is they're new… and just as powerful as Red Tornado; maybe more."
"I want all of you to relax and recover," Batman was angry and worried, "no one from the team is permitted to leave the cave until further notice. Find some way to entertain yourselves while us Leaguers investigate the Reds."
"What about school tomorrow?"
"No one is permitted to leave the team."
Crane shrugged,
"Helps me." She winced.
"We need to get her to the medical bay," Robin lead her to the stairs, "I'll drop you off and get your sketchbook; give you something to do."
"Okay."
~Robin and Black Crane's POV~
"Here we go," Robin sat her on a medical bed, "just sit here while I get your sketchbook."
"You should be in the one next to me."
"I will; once I get your book." Going to her room, Robin noticed the candles on the hexagon. Attempting to ignore it, he went into her nightstand and took out her sketchbook and pencils. Rushing back, he saw she was unmoved, "Good, you didn't move."
"I told you I wouldn't." She took the sketchbook while Robin sat next to her in the bed. She flipped through the book; getting to the drawing of the palace.
"I have to ask… what is up with the candles and the hexagon in your room?"
"Nothing… just a little spell."
Robin knew,
"You've been talking to people on Trivoyian again. The same guy from when the dreams were happening!"
"And the Royal Advisor to my parents."
"Why haven't you told me?"
"Because I didn't know I could do that until I started having the dreams. I've been checking up on things; seeing what My Uncle has done…"
"Tell me. Everything you've found out."
Sighing, Crane gave in and told him everything. She even showed him the drawing of the palace.
Many hours passed talking about Trivoyian. The others were spending some time with their mentors; but Robin wanted some time alone with Crane. After what happened today, he felt so much more attached to her. Entering her mind, seeing her parents and the little dog Jax, he saw a side of her he's never seen before. He wanted to know more; wanted to be able to see her that happy again.
"Maybe she can finally rest once her life isn't being threatened by her Uncle."
Alright… chapter is done. The next chapter is Part one of Alpha Male. I'm almost to Zatanna being introduced and Failsafe/Disordered. Those are the chapters I'm really looking forward to; especially Failsafe/Disordered. I have SOOO much planned for that; and a real awesome idea. Thank all of you for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story. Please review with thoughts, suggestions and opinions.