I know I know, I owe everyone a huge apology for not getting another chapter out in like three months, but I was working on so many other projects that I kinda got buried, then had some drama, then got hit by a car. So, yes, I'm an idiot that has to apologize greatly for not doing more earlier. I am so sorry! Please keep reading. I will finish this and Fixing Damian. The good news is that I've learned from not putting out completed work and other than this and Fixing Damian, all my non-complete stories are either done on my compy or open ended one-shot series. Seriously, I have like twenty stories I've started on my compy that aren't finished and haven't been put out because I don't want anyone more mad at me. Again sorry. May want to reread everything before reading this. For new readers, reminder, look at the date that this was started, back in YJ's first season hayday. All the discrepancies are because of that. I call this world 16.23 because of all the wrong assumptions I made. Took the timeline off my profile though so there was less to look through there.
Anyway, please enjoy!
Ch. 25 - Fear Itself
Bruce Wayne had a full day. Between Wayne Enterprises' paperwork and running tests on the samples he gained at Scarecrow's lab, he didn't have time to rest for more than a minute. He barely had the chemical breakdown and reactionary results of one powder when an emergency call came from the cave. It wasn't much of a call. More like a distress signal.
He wasn't the only one who rushed to Mount Justice. Superman and Martian Manhunter were exiting the other two zeta tubes at nearly the same time he was and only had a second to see the damage done to the room before a wave of water struck out at them. Batman dived to the side, away from the attack while Superman took it and the Martian used his telekinetics to cast it aside. "What the..."
Each of them was taken back at the sight of the team leader, Aqualad, displaying all the symptoms of a rabid animal trying to destroy them. Several water constructs formed around him, attacking even while he was striking out physically against Superboy. The clone was on the defensive, trying not to hurt him while attempting to restrain him. Miss Martian was trying to keep the constructs from hurting the Flashes barely recovering from an initial attack. Canary was unconscious and being covered by her Arrow boys not far from Red Tornado. The android was ripped near in two. Kaldur had been a busy berserker.
"J'onn!"
At the command, the Martian's eyes glowed, glaring at the teen causing so much destruction. As the man of steel dived forward to help his clone, the Atlantian roared, jerking back painfully, grabbing his head. Instead of passing out from a brain blast, his constructs became larger and more fierce, whipping around dangerously everywhere. Conner was knocked into a wall just as his genetic donor rammed into the older teen. M'gann continued to try to contain the attack best she could, giving Batman room to move around without being slapped with a wave or two.
"He's not responding normally!" the League psychic roared over the commotion, trying to gain control of the situation. "His mind's reduced to animal levels!"
"Then we better treat him as one!" Superman managed to grab the teen's arms and pull them behind his back, barely in their sockets. He ignored the constant water attack going to his back as he forced the kid to his knees, pinning him in a way. His hands were focused on the young man's joints, keeping him in place as Batman appeared in front of them. Kaldur snarled at the alien, not noticing as the dark knight took out a strange syringe from his belt and jammed it into his neck until it was too late.
Aqualad roared in pain, turning his head back to Batman just in time to see the placid glare on his face. Slowly the teen started to become limp, his constructs dying away to the floor, soaking everyone. Within moments he fell unconscious, forcing Superman to change his grip on him. Problem, negated.
"Is he..." Conner's voice barely made it over everyone's thoughts. What had just happened?
"He's alive, just sleeping," Superman confirmed, then looked at Batman. "What did you give him?"
"An antitoxin sedative," the detective informed them coolly. "I have one on me in case of emergencies. It should start to counteract the effects of Scarecrow's powder."
"Scarecrow's..."
"He confronted him yesterday," he explained, ignoring the looks going around the room. "Most of Crane's toxins have immediate effects. Aqualad didn't have any obvious reactions so I just let him be."
The Bat pulled the needle from the Atlantian's neck, nodding to himself once before looking to Superman. "Take him to the infirmary and get him ready for testing. Strap him down just in case he wakes up before we've cured him. Status report."
He turned to the others around the room as the kryptonian flew off, checking out the damage. It was almost frightening how much Kaldur could do when he let go of all his inhibitions. M'gann helped Wally to his feet while Barry picked himself up. They were soaked and sore, but otherwise unharmed. Roy and Oliver were working to wake Dinah up, but a bleeding lump was on her head, along with several quickly forming bruises on her body. She would need medical attention for holding off the teen as long as she had. Red Tornado was in pieces. Repairs would take some times, but they'd put him back together before; he'd be fine. Conner had a few marks, but otherwise he came out the best of them. Everyone and everything was wet. That made life more difficult for them, but not impossible.
"In one piece, most of us," Conner admitted, glancing over to Tornado.
"Take Tornado to the science lab. Miss Martian, help the injured to the infirmary. Manhunter, clear this place of water then join us in the infirmary."
"What the he-ck is going on?" Flash demanded as soon as he was on his feet. The accelerated healing of a speedster was a blessing at that moment, but the interruption wasn't. As the others struggled to follow the orders that made sense, he turned on the one person who wasn't there earlier but seemed to know the most anyway. "What are you talking about with 'scarecrows' and 'toxins'? How does that explain any of this?!"
"I'll explain what I can in the infirmary." Ignoring the looks on the speedster's face, Batman brought up his wrist computer link to the batcave. The results of the molecular tests he ran earlier would help them correct this, giving them something to start with at the very least.
"Why not here and now?" he barked back. He had been dealing with Kaldur all that day. He wanted explanations.
"I'll only explain it once." With that, the dark knight stalked after the injured, glancing up from the computer screen on occasion. He didn't want to waste time, not after he finally got a solid lead on the madmen who'd eluded him the entire week.
"So Kaldur got hit with some kind of... berserker powder?" Wally rubbed and rotated his shoulder, getting the feeling back into it as he sat on the bed and listened to the synopsis Bats was giving them on the compound.
"Exactly." Batman was working with several chemicals as he spoke, helping to form an antitoxin better suited to the lad's predicament. "The enzymes inside the compound attacked the primal regions of the brain, stimulating rage. The effects would multiply upon itself until he became unable to control his aggression, commonly called 'going berserk'."
"That explains his short temper today." Green Arrow rubbed the back of his neck remembering how the teen acted all that day. Canary was still out cold in the bed next to them but it was a mild concussion. They'd test her after she woke up for further problems. "He was even trying to convince us to go against your policies on Gotham. Started losing it when we found holes in his plans for tonight. We were trying to get him to calm own and work with us, maybe even go a few rounds."
"Clearly that was a bad idea," Flash murmured, going through the blood analysis for a fifth time. He was not liking the results. "Should have tried yoga or something."
"Wouldn't have worked either." The dark knight set aside a vial for heating and moved on to another possible combination that could help. "Being told to calm down repeatedly is very annoying. His aggression would have only increased faster."
"You know an awful lot about this compound," the speedster pointed out.
"Been analyzing it for half the morning, along with everything else Scarecrow left behind." He finished putting together all the modified fear antitoxins he could come up with that might help. A glance at one of the clocks made him cringe internally. They didn't have a lot of time. "The police are aware of the new compound. Also figured out his plan. Miss Martian, get Superboy and meet me at Gotham's Chinese Theater. I'll explain his plan over the com."
"Yes sir!" The Martian flew out of the room at such speeds, Wally was jealous.
Speaking of which, "What about me?!"
"Until his toxins are out of your system for twenty-four hours, stay out of the field. Agreed?"
"But-"
"Agreed!" Flash overruled Wally's voice, giving him a sharp glare. He was forgetting who was responsible for him when his parents weren't around. The other adults nodded in unison, none of them wanting to take any more chances than necessary now the team was two men down for a bit. They nearly lost Wally the other night. They were not losing him now. The teen's shoulders drooped as he realized he was stuck.
"What? Nothing for me?" Roy folded his arms angrily where he stood. He wasn't part of the team, but he'd been helping with the cases since Monday.
"Aquaman's currently dealing with a problem in Atlantis and cannot be here to help," the dark knight stated evenly, moving towards the exit. "Kaldur will need a trusted face when he wakes up, and someone needs to keep tabs on Wally after his uncle leaves. I'll only need to the two of them and Artemis to handle Scarecrow."
"So you'll trust the newbie and not the veteran huh?" The young man folded his arms, glaring slightly for being slighted. Batman's glare though was better, but it was his former partner whose words hit home.
"We have better things to worry about than who's fighting who Roy." Green Arrow snapped on the other side of Canary. Despite her not being in any real danger, he stayed at her side, holding her hand tightly. Guilt appeared on the younger archer's face, losing the tough guy act as he continued. "Artemis is better off in the field than here watching your friends. This is something only you can do."
After a minute or two more, Roy gave in, sighing. "Fine... but I'm better hear about everything later." He grumbled a bit to the side sourly. "Don't think it's good for her hands though."
"She has her crossbow," his former mentor reminded him. "She'll be fine. She's a tough girl."
"A very tough girl," Wally agreed.
Said tough girl grimly looked at the overcast above her as she waited on the roof of the Chinese Theater. Her com was on, waiting for Batman to finish telling her the plan and for her team to arrive. Sometimes it sucked living in Gotham, especially when everyone else was already together and something else happened. She'd have to get M'gann to pass her the memories later. Man she hated missing things!
"So Scarecrow is somewhere in this crowd trying to infect people with the berserker dust? How?"
"Uncertain," the Bat admitted, shocking everyone. It didn't last very long. "Remnants of common light bulbs were found at the abandoned building, but unless he wired them to explode over the crowd as they file into the premiere, it won't be very effective. Keep an eye out for maintenance workers."
"From the roof?" Superboy's surprise matched Artemis', until she took a look around. She would be able to see out of place trucks from where she was, and Batman approved.
"It's a place to start. Superboy and Miss Martian will join the crowd, looking for suspicious characters. Artemis and I will work behind the scenes. Anyone acts out of place, report it. Confirm with another before making any moves. We are not here to spoil the premiere."
"What's coming out anyway?" Miss Martian asked, really confused. "I mean, it's Wednesday. Who puts a movie out on-"
"It's for the bigwigs as a fundraiser," Artemis cut in, looking over the flyer she snatched. "Some environmental group put it together and critics say it's decent. Don't think you'd like it though. Not cute enough."
"I can watch other things," the Martian insisted, pouting a bit.
"Just not zombies." She heard Conner snort but that was the end of it. It was time to get on mission before the Bat snapped at them. The game was afoot.
A/N: the Zombie movie reference comes from my fic Trauma (a long one-shot) so read that to get the joke. And I have no idea what the movie they're watching is. Setting is January 2012, and couldn't find a movie I liked for this back then so if you know of one that'll work, please tell. As for the rest, Kaldur's a pretty tough fighter and I tried to make him powerful and scary while acting out of control. I needed to cut back on cast members too so I divided everyone up. Large groups, particularly in fights get very confusing and hard to write. I really hope I remembered the day of the week right. I wanted to complete this chapter at last then wrap up Scarecrow in the next so I could finish this up soon.
no idea how much longer it will be, adn I can't guarantee I'll be working on this alone, but I will try. I will end this, hopefully before Christmas. Wish me luck! And never forget to push me once in a while. I'm a lazy bum who sometimes needs a kick in the head. ^^;