Ch. 21 - Cave Sweet Cave
My first post of 2014. Feels good. Though I don't like this chapter that much. Happy 2014!
Thanks to Threaded Neetles for the help on this chapter.
Enjoy!
"Defend the cave at all costs!" F. Wally shouted as he got his goggles. He was about to run straight for Sportsmaster, when he fell to the floor. He looked back and found his legs bound together.
"What the-"
Nightwing was quickly knocked to the ground and had his hands hand cuffed behind his back. A collar was placed on his neck, electrocuting him.
A heat emitted from behind and consumed both M'ganns and Aqualad in the flames, knocking out younger M'gann and Aqualad. F. M'gann struggled to stay awake.
"Artemis?" F. Wally looked behind him.
"C-Conner?" F. M'gann said weakly.
"Put the collars on them, now!" Tigress shot collar built arrows on Black Canary and F. Zatanna.
"You swore." Conner growled. He struggled against his collar.
"Fingers crossed behind my back."
"I told you to stay put." F. Wally glared at Tigress.
"A job is a job." She said as she placed a collar on him.
"Did you really think we had changed in the span of a few hours?" Mayhem chuckled.
"How did they find this place?" Batgirl demanded.
"We turned on the tracer we had when we were taken in your ship thing."
"And the stories?" Artemis said.
"We were buying time until they got here. Notice how we distracted you from asking about our plans?"
"How gullible." Tigress shook her head.
"It's sad, really. How do you guys get things done?"
"You both did a decent job." Luthor said. "Now get a collar on the rest of them."
"After all we've done for you. This is how you repay us?" Nightwing questioned.
"Thank you for treating us and not leaving us for dead."
"And to repay you, we're letting you live."
Mayhem went to put a collar on Bart but he dodged. "Too slow!" Bart ran past him and went toward Wally. Luckily Wally didn't have a collar on yet, but his hands and feet were tied together.
"Come on dude, lets book."
"I kinda tied up here if you haven't noticed!" Bart pulled the restraints off of Wally, partially puling them through him and pulled his arm as they ran out of sight.
"Get them!" Luthor ordered.
"How did you do that?" Wally said once they were safe in the Bio-ship's hanger.
"Do what? I ran away, it's not that hard."
"No, you moron. How did you vibrate the restraints off me? I can't even do that-" Bart cut him off.
"Without getting a nose-bleed, I know. My Wally told me when I was just getting the hang of my powers. Well actually, Dick told me cause he thought it would be funny, which it is." Wally glared at him. "Come on, even you laughed a bit." Bart defended.
Wally rolled his eyes. "But why you?"
"You'll have to ask your older self. Even I don't know what happened there."
"Whatever, just-" He stopped at the sound of foot steps. "Hide!" Wally dove into the water below them while Bart decked below the platform, back pressed against the wall.
"Did you find them?" A voice that sounded like Tigress' said.
"No, but they could be in the med-bay. They love it in there for some reason." Mayhem answered. Bart motioned for Wally to come out of the water quietly once they were gone.
"Lets get to the bedrooms. If they're searching the med-bay, they must have already checked there." Wally said shaking some water out of her hair. Bart nodded and they made their way toward the bedrooms.
"We've looked and looked. But we couldn't find dumb and dumber." Mayhem said.
"Ugh! Why are you both so useless?" Sportsmaster said. "Let's just get the collar on the rest of them and worry about them later." Sportmaster went to put a collar on the younger version of his daughter.
"Stop! The collar won't work." Tigress warned.
"How would you know? You don't know anything" Sportsmaster said as he put the collar on Artemis. The collar started to smoke. "What the hell?" Tigress backed up.
The collar broke apart, the sides of it melting to the floor, before falling to the floor and smoking.
"It overheated. Why didn't you-" He started to yell at Tigress until Artemis slammed him to the floor and disappearing deeper into the cave. She could've sworn she heard a 'Thank you' from Tigress as ran away.
"And there goes another one." Mayhem sighed. "You know this would go better if you actually listened to us."
"Shut up and don't let another one escape."
"Wally?" Artemis whispered loudly as she rushed. "Wally!" She went past his room and was grabbed by the arm. She was pulled into the room and pinned.
"Stop struggling. It's me!" Wally said to her and she stopped fighting him.
"How did you get away?"
"The collar over heated and melted off of me. Now what are we going to do?" Wally shrugged, still pinning her against the wall. Not that Artemis minded it.
"Uh, dude you can let go of her now." Bart pointed out from the bed. Wally slowly let of Artemis.
"I repeat, what are we going to do?"
"Well, Robin is somewhere in the cave. I think the locker room." Bart explained. "If I can get to him we could team up and at least save of the others."
"Good thinking." Artemis said.
"Yeah, after I thought of it." Wally huffed and Artemis elbowed him. "Ow! Anyway, how we supposed to get to them?" He rubbed his arm.
Bart pointed up toward the vents.
"Smart kid."
"He gets it from my side of the family." Wally said. Artemis rolled her eyes.
"Okay, so here's the plan..." Bart started.
Bart whizzed through the cave. If Luthor and Sportsmaster wanted him they'd have to come and get him. Making a sharp right, he sped into the locker room, catching a glimpse of an open locker with clothes spilling out. Perfect, he thought.
"Tim, heads up!" He yelled, throwing clothes at the bat brat. Before Tim could react however, Bart was dressing him at the speed of light and carrying him out. "Cave's under attack. Get the rest of the "next gen" team to a safe location, we'll rendezvous with you at the watchtower."
"But-" Tim opened his mouth, but Bart was already back down the hallway. He stopped in time to hide and observe the scene. Flames were still around Aqualad and both M'ganns. F. M'gann having passed out along with her younger self. Nightwing was still on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back and the collar on. F. Wally laid against a wall with his hands and feet bound by thick rope, a collar around his neck. Everyone else had collars on and special restrains that blocked their abilities. Strangely, Luthor and Sportsmaster were nowhere to be seen.
Making sure to time it correctly, Impulse ran around the flames, extinguishing them. Then ran to Nightwing and freed him. Within seconds Wally and Artemis dropped from the ceiling and attacked Tigress and Mayhem, distracting them while Bart sped around attempting to help everyone else with their various positions.
Once he was done, the team surrounded Mayhem and Tigress. Bart punched Mayhem in the face for good measure and made sure everyone started to attack them. When they started to get over run. A flash emitted the room. Black Canary used her Canary Cry to move the smoke.
Sportsmaster and Luthor stood atop the pile of rubble they had before.
"Whoa What is going here?" Sportsmaster said. "We leave you here for 2 hours and you couldn't control them."
"I told we should've left Mercy here with them." Luthor commented.
"It's time for you to leave." Batgirl announced.
"Actually, I believe it's time for you to leave our new headquarters."
"Us, give you the cave?! Forget it!" F. Zatanna said.
"Would you really want to sacrifice the lives of the innocent people that live in this harbor?" Luthor threatened.
"What do you mean?" Black Canary demanded.
"While you were playing hide and seek, Sportsmaster and I have planted explosives all around this mountain and many more throughout the harbor. We expected this and we were prepared." Luthor explained.
"You wouldn't dare do that." Nightwing accused as he locked eyes with a smirking Luthor. After a moment he spoke. "Stand down."
"What do you want?" F. Wally glared.
"We were going to burn this place down but it's way too nice to do that." Sportmaster said. "You heroes have been living in style and now it's out turn."
"There is no way you're getting this mountain." F. Zatanna said.
"Either we take this place.." Tigress started.
"Or we burn it to the ground." Mayhem finished. "Your choice."
There was moment of silence. The senior members and leaguers hesitated. What were they to do? Let them take the cave and gain access to all the secrets of the Justice League and the team? Or have them kill every person within the 5 mile radius?
'We have no choice.' Black Canary said through the mind link. 'Surrender and head to the Bio-ship and super cycle.'
Everyone either put away they're weapons or stood from fighting stance.
"You win. Take the cave." Black Canary announced. "But just know we will be back and you will be the ones surrendering in shame."
"Yeah, yeah. Start walking." Tigress said. She aimed her cross-bow at her.
"Mercy." Luthor called. "Help escort them out of our base." She nodded and followed Mayhem and Tigress as the force the heroes out.
As the team flew away from the cave on the Bio-ship and super cycle, Bart collapsed into one of the seats, exhausted. The others looked back in time to see the last of their headquarters over the horizon.
The place that had become a home to all of them. The place relationships and friendships formed. The place that started it all was now in control of the enemy. The senior members of the team watched as their legacy grew farther and farther away. All the memories they had there would now be tainted by this new one.
Sportsmaster and Luthor had really hit home this time. Literally. First, killing their family, then forcing them out of their home.
"I can't believe this." F. M'gann said lowly. "Where do we go now?"
"Where else can we go? We have nowhere else except the Watchtower." Nightwing said.