Bludhaven - The Warehouse
April 22nd, 2017
16:30 EDT
Rain tapped with a relentless vigor on the window. The clouded sunlight seeped into Rose's room as she held her utility belt in her hand. She rummaged through the pouches, refilling needed supplies and gadgets. She opened the final empty pouch and placed the utility belt on her bed.
Her heartbeat thumped in her ear as loud as the rain on the window pane. She stood silent and still, jaw clenching as she stared at her nightstand. With quiet movements she opened the top drawer, pulling out a small safe. She punched the numbers in the lock, heart jumping at the 'click' of its undoing. She raised the lid.
Inside the tiny safe rested the three capped Mirakuru syringes she stole on their latest mission. The neon green entrails sat bright against the black box.
She reached out her hand, shaking as she placed diligent fingers around one of the syringes. She picked it up. Her heart rate climbed at its closeness; at its feel.
Thoughts whirled in her head as memories flooded through her.
Why? Why did she take these? Why did she take them after everything she had done while on the Mirakuru's rage and bloodlust. Why, after everything she did, did she still crave it in her veins?
She wondered if this was how addicts felt. To have something tear you into a shredded pile of nothing yet still crave more of it.
The Mirakuru turned her into a killer. This she knew. But what she knew most, what she hated most, was that she was nowhere strong enough without it. The moment she placed a small dose in her veins at the Gotham Halfway Home, she realized what she had been missing.
Her fingers twitched and breathing hitched. Adrenalin filled her as her body knew what she held in her hand. Her body knew what could come next.
She hated what it did to her. But god damn did it feel so good.
She proved to herself she could control it in tiny doses. Just a few milliliters, that's all she needed to bring her strength back to where it used to be. Back to where it needed to be.
Back to where it needed to be, to keep Deathstroke from taking her and Joey away again.
Rose jumped at the sound of her bedroom door creaking open. Fuck! Why didn't she lock the door? She grabbed the other two syringes in her palm and tried to stuff them in her utility belt.
But a hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her.
"Ow Jesus!" She snipped, snapping her head to her right. Her grip tightened around the Mirakuru syringes.
She stood breathless. Joey's gaze stung her as hard as his grip around her wrist.
Her nose flared with irritation. No one. No one. Was allowed to grab her anymore.
"Joey. Let. Go." She snarled. Had he been anyone but her brother, he would have already been unconscious on the floor. "It's not what it looks like," She beamed. "Let. Go."
But Joey did not adhere to her order. If anything, he tightened his hold. His teeth grit behind pressed lips. An shaky anger rose in his limbs.
Rose took her free hand and in return clasped it on Joey's wrist. His face squirmed with pain as she finally managed to loosen his grip and tossed his hand towards his chest. She quickly placed the syringe in her utility belt.
What the fuck are you thinking? Joey signed to her, his face creased with a fiery disbelief.
"I wasn't going to use it!" Right now. She meant to add.
Why do you even have it? He asked, sneering.
Rose stood, stoic and silent. Her mouth full of answers with lips sewn shut around them.
Where did you get it? He asked, realizing he wasn't going to get a response to his first question.
"At the Meta-youth home in Gotham," she answered. "I took it so they couldn't use it on those kids anymore."
His only movement was the rise and fall of his chest. Until he finally gave her one single sign, Liar.
"Fuck you Joey," she spat back.
Did you forget what it did to you? Did you forget what it turned you into? He asked. He paused, his hands shaking, knowing that his words were cruel, but damnit they were true.
Monster. Killer. He signed.
"I'm not using it the way Deathstroke made me use it." She said, quieter. "Just small doses when The Team's in trouble." Now she panicked, scraping her head for excuses. "I need it."
You're strong without it. He signed.
"Not strong enough." She answered, defensive, turning away from him. An itch of worry dance beneath her skin as she placed the syringes in her utility belt. She looked over her shoulder asking in a soft voice, "Are you gonna tell Nightwing?"
Joey stared at her, unmoving. He looked at her with a small furrow of his brow and a slight pout of his lip. Rose had known him long enough to know his answer was 'no'. Whenever Joey was sure he always answered affirmatively, enthusiastically. Any stumbled, delayed, or missing answers always meant 'no'.
A sadness pulled on Joey's expression. His eyes fell to the ground before he looked back up at her and signed, I just got you back Rose, I don't want to lose you again.
Rose watched him leave, closing the door behind him. An ache filled her gut as she wondered if he meant her being kicked off the team. Or dying. Or becoming that monster once again.
She wasn't sure which was worse.
Central City
April 22nd 2017
15:30 CDT
"Uhh…." Barry walked into his home, puzzled. He found several large boxes of disassembled furniture in his living room and one at the top of the stairs. A new, plastic-wrapped mattress sat askew against the couch.
He heard the clacking of a hammer, a swear, and a baby's laughter from upstairs.
"Honey? You okay?" Barry called up the stairs, putting his jacket in the closet.
He wondered what it was that Iris and Kori could be up to now. The two had become so close in such a short amount of time that Barry joked of Iris leaving him for her. To which she responded, 'Oh we couldn't do that. Her spaceship is wrecked.' It did not ease his mind but at least they were getting along.
In fact, they only quarreled once. When they discovered that Tamaraneans apparently received their powers from sunlight. Meaning that they had to recharge during the day...in the nude.
Two fiery red cheeks on Barry's face and one stern talk from Iris was all it required for Starfire to adjust her recharging habits. But Barry promised to build her her own privacy wall in the backyard.
Barry walked up the stairs. He looked into the twin's room to discover Iris and Starfire putting together a bed frame.
"Iris, what are you doing?" Barry asked, watching her as she fought with a screwdriver.
"Setting up Kori's new bed," she answered.
"Why?"
"She's staying in here with the babies."
"Why? We have an extra bedroom."
"No, Bart's going to be staying in there."
Barry's words died in his throat. He had to replay her words in his mind before asked again, "What?"
"Are you going to help me?" She huffed, irritated. "I need you to put his dresser together." She pointed towards the unopened dresser box in the hallway. "I have to take him clothes shopping tonight."
"Uh, Iris, we never talked about this." Barry said with a shake of his head.
"What is there to talk about Barry?" Iris chimed back. "His home is burned to the ground, he needs a place to live."
"Iris." He shook his head again "I-I'm not comfortable with this. He's supposed to be staying at The Warehouse. We need to think about this."
Iris's face scrunched with inquiry at his hesitation. "Why?" She asked, standing. "There's nothing to think about."
"Inertia killed Jay and Joan, Iris." Barry stated needlessly. "If he finds out Bart lives here-" His mind danced with nightmares. "What if he comes after us even harder? We need to keep a distance from him."
He felt sick talking about Bart in such a way. Though it only hurt because it was true. Barry continued, "Inertia killed them to get at Bart. Inertia is here because he's here-"
"That boy is not responsible to Jay and Joan!" Iris snapped at him.
Her voice sparked an uneasy squeal from Dawn. Starfire walk to the crib and picked her up to soothe her.
Barry was jarred by Iris's foreign tone. It brought about a small wave of fear in him. It was rare that he ever saw Iris lose her temper. She always took a moment to think before she spoke. He must have rumpled her den too many times for her to finally bare her fangs at him.
"He is not responsible for them dying." Iris lowered her voice but the intensity of her timbre remained. Her lip and her nose twitched. Something Barry noticed always happened when she tried to fight back the rising tears in her eyes.
Her voice cracked. "I am so tired of hearing that from everyone. I don't want to hear another word about, about 'what if, what if'."
There was so much in her life that Iris could control; had control of. But one thing she couldn't not control were people's thoughts and poisonous whispers. She had only spent a few days in The Watchtower. She had told Barry that she couldn't stay there because of boredom. But in reality, it was that the people that passed through it, made her ill.
Her stomach curdled hearing the absurd accusations made about Bart. Disgusting, ignorant things said by the other League members and even Bart's own teammates. Putrid, desperate whispers of blame, talk of suspension from hero duties, even conspiracy theories of double agency and guilt.
Disgusting, all of it.
Iris threw her hands up in irritation. "Everyone is connected to everything. Everyone has had good things and bad things happen because of them, just for existing." She shook her head. "No one has any control over it, just like Bart has no control."
Her voice struggled against her shaking composure. "He is our grandson. He is our family. And I will not turn him away knowing he doesn't have a home."
"The ware-"
She jolted her finger at him as she interrupted. "Don't you dare say anything about that damn warehouse. You know that that place is just a-a a collection bin for the kids that don't have anyone left." She knew that it was a cruel thing to say. But it was true, and if everyone else was going to state their raw and hurtful opinions, so would she.
"Bart still has family. He has us." She voice cracked on her final word as she placed her hand on her chest. She took a moment to gather herself but her gaze still pierced right through Barry.
"So you do whatever you need to to get whatever you're feeling out of your system." She said as she motioned haphazardly at his figure. "Talk to Canary. Talk to a counselor. Talk to a stranger, I don't care." Her jaw clenched as she huffed away the anger in her chest. "But I will not let you take out your feelings on Bart. I will not let you be like everyone else."
Barry looked down at the floor, sullen. She was right.
"You think you're the only one who's sad, Barry?" Iris asked, the irritation in her voice giving way to empathy. "Bart lived with them. How do you think he feels? Inertia didn't just take away some of his family. He took away his stability, his home, his new life. He needs to rebuild that life with us. With family that loves him."
She swallowed hard. "But if you're willing to let that little boy live in-in an orphanage before welcoming him in our home-" She cut herself off not knowing if she should continue.
But she did. "Then you're not the man I married."
Barry looked at her, wide eyed with a slacked jaw. Iris brushed past him, not wanting to continue the fight for fear she may say something more cruel. She grabbed the box containing the dresser pieces and attempted to push it down the hall towards the guest bedroom.
"Iris," Barry quietly called after her. But she continued to push the heavy box, not wanting to fight anymore.
"Iris," he supersped up to her grabbed her arm, gently.
Iris closed her eyes, bracing herself for more arguments.
"You're right," he said.
She turned towards him, eyes wide with surprise.
He looked at her with sorrowful eyes "You're right. I'm sorry." She was Iris West-Allen. She was alway right. And she was the only person who could ever see right through him.
"It's not his fault. It's not Bart's fault." He hated how hard it was for him to say it out loud. "I'll talk to someone. I'll fix this." He shook his head and added quietly. "I don't like who I am right now either."
Iris placed a soft hand on his cheek and gave him a tiny smile. "Then we'll work on it. Together."
Bludhaven - The Warehouse
April 22nd 2017
17:00 EDT
The Zeta Tube whirled in the basement of The Warehouse. M'gaan appeared inside the bright spiral of light. She stepped out of it with a relieved sigh. She rubbed the fatigue from her eyes, knowing that after today she could finally have a peaceful sleep.
She left Mars just moments prior. J'ornell's suicide bombing had killed all but three Martian Council members. B'arzz managed to survive as well but still recovered from his injuries.
The truth was out about J'ornell's betrayal. It was now known that there never was any White Martian terrorist attacks; that J'ornell hired A'monn and A'morr to fake them for their own personal gain.
The surviving Martian Councilmen promised to testify that A'monn and A'morr posed as Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and Miss Martian to discredit them; making them seem like killers. She wasn't sure how well their testimony would be received by the American government, but it was a start.
Tension still lingered on Mars but no where near the severity of just a few months ago. It was about time that something, anything, went their way. It was a shaky win. But a win nonetheless.
"So, how'd it go?"
M'gaan looked up to see Nightwing by the computer monitors. Artemis stood next to him, clicking away at the keyboard as she put together the lesson for the training today.
Nightwing found it might be good bonding and "steam blowing" activity for some of the younger members to spar with some of the original Team. Artemis put together some files on their newly discovered opponents. Everything from Inertia, to Red Hood, to Deborah Morgna. Having them study their moves might finally give them the upper hand in battle.
"Tiring, long." M'gaan answered. "I'll have my report done later tonight. But, things have seemed to calm down on my planet. Now that the truth's out."
"Probably the best news we've heard in months," Nightwing said.
Boots patted on the ground as they were joined by Rose, Joey, Tim, Jaime, and Virgil.
"That everyone?" Artemis asked.
Jaime looked around the room. "Well, Bart said he'd be late." As per usual. "Um, but we're still missing Cassie."
"That's weird. She's never late," Tim said. He pulled out his phone, calling her. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail.
They waited a few more minutes until Tim's phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket. Cassie's name popped up on the caller ID.
"Cassie? We're are you?" He asked, pressing the phone to his ear. "Training's about to start."
Silence filled the other end. There was a small sound of breathing. A man on the other end responded.
"Hello, replacement."
The voice shot a shiver down Tim's spine. A sudden rage coursed through him as heat filled his chest. Why? How, did he have Cassie's phone?
"Jason." Tim hissed through his teeth. "Where is she?"
Tim's savage tone caught the attention of the room. Nightwing snapped his head up at the sound of Jason's name.
"Well, that would ruin the fun now, wouldn't it?" Jason mocked.
"Give her to us, now." Tim demanded.
Nightwing ordered him to put his phone on speakerphone. They all crowded around Tim, silent.
Jason's crude voice spilled from Tim's speakers. "What's it feel like?" He asked. "Having something taken away from you?"
"Jason," Nightwing interrupted. "Whatever bad blood you have between us stays with us. Cassie has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, but she does. She has everything to do with this. She will be used to take you all down." Jason's threat cast a cloud over them.
"And Robin," he addressed Tim again. A savageness caked his tone. "I will use her to make you hurt. You want to be a Robin, then you'll be shattered like one."
Artemis pushed herself towards the phone. "Jason, it's Artemis."
A quiet sat on the other end.
Artemis continued. "This isn't you." She said said with a soft tone, remembering that small, star-crossed boy that once followed her around. "The Jason I knew would never hurt any kid. Superpowered or not." A soft plea coated her words. "Please, give Cassie back to us."
Silence again fell for a moment. Jason's words were quiet and sorrowful. The left trails of regret and longing. "You should have gotten out when could have, Arty."
Irritation crawled back through him. "And Nightwing," Jason said. "Give Bats a message for me." A darkness coated his tone. "Kids shouldn't wear costumes."
Infinity Island
April 22nd 2017
16:30 ECT
A pounding rose in Cassie's head as she groaned. The searing pain made opening her eyes a formidable task. Bright lights clouded her vision as she tried to blink away the blurriness.
A sluggishness reseted in her limbs. As her sight to come to, she realized she was sitting on a heavy chair. Her legs were bound to its legs and her wrists tied behind her. She couldn't move.
"What?" She groaned, groggily.
The fog finally cleared. Cassie found herself in the middle of a room. Cabinets lined the walls with various surgical instruments and weapons. In front of her a video camera sat still and daunting on a tripod.
A pang of panic shot through her. She pulled on the restraints but the heavy iron chair wouldn't budge. Her heart pounded in her chest as she became all too aware of the Inhibitor Collar tight around her neck.
"Relax," a masculine voice commanded behind her. She yelped as a hand clasped onto her shoulder. "It's alright," he assured.
She looked from the hand and up to the man next to her. She squinted under the bright light behind him. He walked away from her and towards the cabinets. He leaned against it, an apple in his other hand. He took a bite out of it with a deafening 'crunch'. He spoke before he finished chewing. "M'not gonna to hurt you. I'm just here to babysit."
She had only seen Jason without his mask in photos. Images long ago buried in Batcave archives and at the bottom of cloud storage.
She stared at him with a curious wonder in her eye. Without his helmet, he became all too real. The lines on his face, the tiny scars on his knuckles; details toying with the impossibility of his existence. A once bloodied corpse; now moving, breathing, being.
"Jason?" Cassie asked in a hoarse voice.
A tenseness climbed in his muscles. "That's not my name," he growled. "Not anymore."
"You died." She stated, still in awe. "How did you come back?" She had an inkling of how from Batman's deductions, but wanted to find out for herself.
Jason groaned. "For some reason Ra's decided I was worth sharing his Lazarus Pit with." He tossed is apple into the trashcan in the corner of the room. "I haven't decided if I appreciate his...generosity."
"Where am I?" She asked, looking around her. He eyes glossed over the menacing instruments on the counter. "What are they going to do to me?"
"Location's confidential." Jason answered. "I'm not going to let them hurt you." He assured in a softer voice. "They just need you to send a message."
"Why are you working for them?" She demanded, her voice raised.
"What?" Jason was taken aback by her tone.
"What are you doing?" She asked, astounded. "You used to be Robin. You used to be one of us."
"I am nothing like you." He snarled. "And being 'Robin' is what got me killed. Something that apparently meant nothing to Batman, since your little boyfriend now wears my old cowl."
He closed the space between them, crouching down in front of her. "If you keep doing this. This...amature superhero teeny-bopper bullshit, they're going to get you killed. Bruce saw me slaughtered in front of him and it did nothing."
Jason stood with his rising anger. "He still runs The Team, he still has proteges. He does not give a shit about any of you. Can't you see that? You are all pawns for his dirty work." He growl as images of Tim flashed in his mind. "And when one of you gets killed he just plucks up a brand new one off the street like nothing ever happened."
"Are you kidding me?" Cassie snipped back. "Bruce was devastated when you died. Dick said he nearly hung up his cowl, Tim had to fight so hard to get Bruce to let him become Robin."
"Shut up," Jason barked back.
Sweat trailed down his brow. A trembled danced in his hand. A sickness began to rise in his gut as the room became uncomfortably hot. All were signs that he was due for his next dosage. He reached into his pocket, pulling out an orange pill bottle. He twisted off the cap.
Fuck. Empty.
The flash of orange caught Cassie's attention. "Stop!" She exclaimed. "Why are you taking those?"
"Side effect of the Lazarus Pit." Jason answered, taken aback by her outburst. "Special pills I need to take to keep my body functioning."
"Who told you that?"
"Ra's…Luthor..." He answered, slowly.
"They're lying!" Cassie declared. "Those pills are nothing but Spark ground into powder and put into tablets."
Jason looked down at the pill bottle in his hand then looked back up at her.
"If you don't take some for a while, do you run a fever, sweat, shake?" She asked.
A quiet overcame Jason. His eyes raced from left to right, piecing together every moment just before every dosage. There hadn't been a time since he was brought back that he didn't take them. The more the fever ignited his skin, the more images played in his mind of his mother going through withdrawal.
"They're drugging you, Jason." A pleading caked Cassie's words, begging him to understand. "They're addicting you so you'll do whatever they say. They're making you dependent and addicted so you won't leave them."
"Stop," he cawed. He grit his teeth in irritation. But was he irritated because of his fever? Or was he irritated because she could be right? "Stop. Making. Shit. Up."
"How can you be so blind?" Cassie scolded. "You think Bruce is using us for his personal gain? "What about them? What about The Light?" Cassie's tone hardened with painful truth. "You think Ra's al Ghul just brought you back out of kindness? You think him and Luthor don't have an ulterior motive?"
"Shut up!" He screamed as the door to the room slid open. "You don't know anything!"
"Wooooaaaah what's going on in here?" In blur of green, Inertia raced up to them from the doorway. He stood with his hands on his hips. He looked down at Cassie with a condescending snarl. "I told you to keep her gagged, she'll never shut up."
"What do you want?" Jason snipped at him.
"It's my turn to babysit the babe." Inertia answered. "Plus, Ra's called for you. Says you might be runnin' low on your dosage."
Jason stayed quiet. His eyes met Cassie's intense gaze. The orange bottle weighed heavy in his hand.
Inertia tossed him a new bottle filled with fresh pills. "Get goin'," Inertia snipped at him. "Take your pills, rest up, get some sleep." He flashed Cassie a hungry smile. "I'll take care of her."
Cassie's stomach filled with a cool sickness. There was a certain savageness that prowled in Inertia's eyes that she had to look away from.
Jason chewed on the inside of his cheek in thought. He huffed with uncertainty and frustration as he trudged out of the room.
"Jason, don't!" Cassie tried to call out after him. "I'm telling the truth-"
Inertia cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth. "I think that's enough out of you. Did anyone ever tell you your voice is super annoying?" He glanced over his shoulder, waiting Jason to leave.
Jason paused for a moment in the doorway. He took one more look at Cassie before leaving the room. The door slid shut behind him.
Inertia supersped up to the door and locked it. He sped back up to Cassie. "God I thought he'd never leave." A mischievous smile pulled on his lips. "Now, we can get to the fun part."
Inertia walked over to counter, picking up some of the blades and inspecting them as he spoke. "Did you know, these walls are soundproof?" He informed. "No chance of a broody, angsty, bad boy interrupting our playtime."
A chill flushed down Cassie's cheeks. A tremble rose in her lip. "W-What do you want with me? Jason said I wouldn't get hurt."
Inertia picked up a dagger from the counter. His fingers gripped tight around the gold handle. He turned around. "Well, Jason isn't exactly informed of every detail." He enlightened.
Inertia moved in front of her. His free hand snatched her jaw with a tight grasp, pulling her gaze up at him. Cassie tried to wiggle out of his hand.
"You," Inertia brought his face in close. "My supple, blonde, punching bag are going to be a major turning point of history today."
A savage smile pulled on his face as he let go. "But first, we have to get you camera ready."
Cassie saw black as his fist collided with her mouth.
Bludhaven - The Warehouse
April 22nd 2017
18:00 EDT
Disorder teetered on the edge as tension flooded the basement of The Warehouse. Nightwing, Artemis, and M'gaan stood at the computer. A cable connected Tim's phone to the mainframe, doing what they could to pinpoint the location of Jason's call.
Jaime, Vigil, Rose, and Joey did what they could to placate Robin's worried mind. They tossed around ideas as to where she might be and planned a course of action.
But their words fell silent on Tim's apprehensive ears. "Anything?" He asked Nightwing, his heart fluttering in his chest.
The sound of static erupted around them. The screen of the computer danced with a cloud of white and gray pixels. They snapped their gazes up at the computer monitor. Choppy remnants of a voice popped in and out on the speakers. A video monitor flashed to life as a video transmission blurred in an out on the screen. Nightwing tapped away on the keyboard, trying to find the cause of the computer's malfunction.
"What's going on?" Artemis asked.
"Someone's trying to broadcast something to us." Nightwing answered. "They're overriding our monitor feed."
"Hello? Is this thing on?" An airy voice spilled from the speaker. A facial close up sharpened on the monitor.
Jamie twitched at the sound of the voice. He had only heard it once. But that was all it took for him to remember.
"Stupid 2000s tech-" Inertia's voice rang clear from the video broadcast. "Ah, here we go." He chimed as he backed away from the video camera.
In the live stream, Inertia stood in a room. His green uniform sat snug on him. He snapped his translucent orange goggles from over his eyes onto his forehead. He supersped just far enough away for the camera to get his full figure on screen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself." He motioned towards himself in a dramatic fashion. "I, am Inertia, professional evil badass and speedster soldier for The Light."
Their nerves twinged and lungs froze as he paused.
His lips curled into a wicked smile. "And I have somebody I'd like you to meet," he said.
With a quick blur of green, he ran to a spot behind him.
A collective gasp filled the room.
If they had blinked, they would have missed Cassie tied to a chair and Inertia tearing off strip of cloth tied around her mouth.
"Help!" Cassie yelled as soon as the cloth was gone, shouting out around her. "Help me. Somebody." She cried, desperation dripping from her hoarse voice. "Help." She sounded like she'd been yelling.
"Oh my god," M'gaan gasped. "Oh my god. No." Her jaw fell agape as Cassie's damaged condition finally registered.
Cassie winced in pain as a stream of blood fell from her lower lip. A purple bruise already swarmed under her eye.
M'gaan trembled as she spotted the Inhibitor Collar around Cassie's neck.
She was helpless, defenseless.
And she was sitting right in the clawed paw of a monster.
Inertia leaned over next to her, crossing his arms. "Pretty ain't she? Well, besides all the blood." He cooded.
Cassie's eyes went wide, realizing the camera was on. She did want she could to tuck her face away from the lense.
Artemis's phone chimed wildly. She looked at the screen to see a multitude of push notifications from GBS. She gasped, looking up at them. "Guys, it's not just us getting this." Her face plastered with concern. "This broadcast is global."
"Citizens of the world," Inertia continued with his dramatic showmanship. "This is high school freshman and metahuman..." He grabbed the base of her hair and yanked her head upward, exposing her full face to the camera. "Cassandra Sandsmark."
"No!" M'gaan called out.
"Shit," Nightwing swore.
A ringing filled Dick's ear. The synapses in his brain sparked with a slow comprehension. It was a moment that seemed so undoubtedly impossible that his mind did everything it could to convince him it wasn't real.
The only sound he heard was his breath, and Inertia's voice ringing in his hear.
'Cassandra Sansmark'
'Cassandra Sansmark'
Nightwing's shaky gaze stared at Cassie's image on the screen. Inertia cocked her head in clear, undoubted view. Nightwing watch the growing glossiness of her eyes. He followed the small stream of blood from her nostril down to the bloodied gums of her teeth.
The world came back to him as it finally clicked that this was real. Inertia's broadcast was happening. Cassie was in the hands of a killer.
And he had just told the world her identity.
….
Nothing was ever going to be the same.
"Also known as Wonder Girl, protege to Wonder Woman," Inertia informed to the camera. "Unknown to the public, The Justice League has an entire team of consisting of minors. Children, some of which who have died, doing The Justice League's covert dirty work." A snarl flickered on his lips and he glared into the camera. "This message is from my boss, to The League. You have twenty four hours to disband your team of covert operatives or…" Cassie yelped as Inertia pulled her head up by the base of her hair again.
"She dies," he said with a smile.
His pause weighed heavy in the room.
"What'll be, earth's heroes? Will you disband your team of protoges, or…will you sacrifice, a third child for the sake of your organization? The timer starts.." He let go of Cassie and pointed to the wall behind him. "Now." A 24 hour countdown timer lit up on the wall. The milliseconds ticketed away with and ominous speed.
Inertia chuckled to himself behind his slimy smile. "But while we're waiting, why don't I give a little incentive?"
He reached to his right, grabbing a gold-handled dagger. He supersped behind Cassie and looped his arm around her neck in a headlock. With his right hand, he slowly and mercilessly, drug the blade across her chest from shoulder to shoulder. Tears burst from Cassie's eyes as the speakers flooded with her anguished scream.
Inertia's smile pulled tighter.
"CASSIE!" Tim screamed at the television.
"Oh my god!" M'gann called out. Her eyes watered as she placed her hand over her mouth.
The room erupted with their distressed and angered cries.
"Hope to hear back from you soon." Inertia chirped at the camera. "Let me know if you can hear her screams all the way up to The Watchtower."
"Trace that video feed, NOW!" Tim yelled. "We have to find her! We have to get her out!"
"Tim just take a deep breath-" Nightwing tried to calm him.
"No! Don't you tell me what to do!" Tim barked at him.
Nightwing grew fearful. A side of Tim was roused that none of them had seen before. A side of him at awakened that make Nightwing afraid of what Tim might do. He had never seen Tim's emotions snake through his composure.
He had never seen Tim with such a rage in his eye.
Nightwing's wrist computer rang. A small video of Batman projected onto the space in front of him.
"Have you-" Batman's words were cut off by Tim's shouts.
Time jumped in front of Nightwing, grabbing his wrist, pulling his video feed towards him.
"I trusted you!" Tim yelled at Bruce. Artemis jumped at him, trying to pull him away as Nightwing tried to push him off. But the words shot from Tim's mouth with unbridled betrayal. "I trusted when you said to give Jason a chance. I trusted you when you said to let him go. And he took her! He took her and now she's in the hands of a psychopath!"
Artemis yanked Tim away, slamming him up against the wall. She held him with a tight grip around his biceps, pushing him against the wall. He was irate, he was emotional, he wasn't himself, he was embarrassing himself. And worse of all, he wasn't helping.
"Get it together," Artemis hissed as she brought her face close to him. "Get your shit together."
She understood. She had seen that type of fire many times from Wally. She has seen that look of desperation many times when Wally was distressed over her safety.
"You can't help her like this." She looked at him with softer eyes but her words were still stern. "Her boyfriend can be mad all he wants, but right now we need Robin to help find her, okay?"
Harsh breaths fired from Tim as his nostrils flared. He trembled beneath Artemis's palms. In her eyes he found reality; he found reasoning. Anger still sat below his skin but he managed to push it away. At least for a moment. His shaking subsided, realizing that Artemis was right. He had his whole life for anger.
But they did not have long to find her.
Infinity Island
April 22nd 2017
17:30 ECT
Jason sat in the dark confines of his bedroom. He tried to sleep but his mind replayed Cassie's stunning accusations. He was hot under this leather jacket. Sweat caked his skin. He had to blink back the focus in his eyes as he looked down at the full pill bottle in his hand.
He held out his left hand. His fingers trembled in the air like an amatur trapeze artist. He grit his teeth in anger as he found he could not steady his hand. He clasped it over the bottle, his eyes shutting tight.
Was he ill from The Pit's side effects? Or was he ill from withdrawal? Did his body tremble from sickness? Or from anticipation of his next dose?
Was Ra's trying to keep him alive or was he just pumping him full of drugs to keep him placid? Just like….
Just like he had seen them do to Arsenal.
Jason jumped from his bed and charged out the door, placing the pill bottle in his jacket pocket. There was only one way to find out.
He marched down the hallway of the compound, passing by the occasional ninja guard as he trudged past them. His knees waned to buckle beneath him but he ignored their persistence. He breathed heavy as his fever boiled his skin.
Jason slammed open the door to Ra's's study. Two guards in the room jumped at attention, drawing their swords. Ivo and Ra's stood on either side of Ra's desk. Their backs had been turned, watching the security screens behind the desk.
Jason went to speak but his words shriveled in his throat. He looked at the main screen to see a video feed of Wonder Girl, collared and bound, helpless to the violent onslaught of Inertia's insatiable torture. Inertia's cackle rang from the speaker and he struck a crowbar down on her arms, her gut, and her knees at superspeed. As a demi-god, It would take far more swings from that slimey green maggot before he broke Cassie's bone or damaged organs. But that did not mean it didn't hurt. It did not mean she wouldn't eventually bruise or bleed.
Inertia dropped the crowbar and went for a gold-handled knife. He placed the blade on the corner of her mouth and moved to her side, giving the camera an unblocked view. Cassie's eyes went wide. Inertia looked at her with a predatory grin.
"Why don't you give the good folks at home another good scream?" He asked.
He sliced the knife from the corner of her mouth and through her cheek. Blood poured down her jaw as her piercing scream speared through the speakers and through Jason's chest.
Only Inertia's heinous laugh could be heard above her.
"What are you doing to her?!" Jason yelled.
"Don't act so surprised, you had to have known it would come to this." Ra's answered cooly. He looked at him with cold, unabashed eyes. "We cannot achieve change without the occasional bloodshed.
"She's just a little girl!" Jason yelled, exasperated.
"Oh now we all all know she is much more than that." Ivo smirked.
Jason grit his teeth. He pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at Ra's. "Let her go. You let her go right now!" He demanded.
Ra's bodyguards jerked at Jason's movement Ra's motioned to them to stay put.
"And what will you do? Hum? Run away?" Ra's said. "You and I both know that won't survive without your medication."
Quiet fell between them. Jason's mind whirled again with Cassie's words. He looked at Ra's with a dark glower and answered, "And you and I both know that that 'medicine' is bullshit. Want to tell me why it shares the exact same chemical makeup as 'Spark'?"
The words fell from Jason's mouth before he had a chance to think on them. Bluff, bluff, bluff. His strong tone didn't give away his uncertainty, but would Ra's be able to see behind the cloud of smoke?
Ra's took a moment before answering. He smiled. "You know, as a former sidekick to the world's greatest detective, I'm disappointed that you didn't figure it out sooner."
Jason's eye went wide.
Cassie was right. It had all been a lie.
Jason's body trembled with a mix of rage, fear, and fever. The gun felt incredulously heavy in his hand. His weak muscles couldn't hold it upright any longer. The barrel fell from Ra's head to his stomach.
With a quick flick of his tongue, Ra's commanded to his guards, "Kill him."
Their swords nearly sliced off Jason's head as he dodged their movements just in time. He knew he wasn't strong enough to fight them. He knew to take on any of them would be a death sentence. So he did the only thing he could: run.
He burst through the door and down the hallway. His legs burned as they struggled to pull up his boots. The ninjas followed him. He picked up speed as he closed in on the window at the end of the hallway. He fired a few sloppy shots behind him. Judging by the yelp he thought he may have got one of them, but he wasn't certain.
He covered his face with his arms as he jumped out the window, glass shattering around him. It was loud. His legs stung with pain as he hit the ground and fell. He groan, picking himself up onto his feet, trying to run through the limp in his joints.
He was in the courtyard. He was a sitting duck. Something that was solidified by the sound of an arrow flying just past his temple.
Jason looked around him as he ran, a handful of archers emerged within their stone lookout pillars. He dodged into the shadows, hoping to impede the archers' accuracy. He would never understand Ra's absurd love for ancient weaponry.
He reached for his utility belt and pulled out his Father Box. It sparked in his hands, the fall damaging it.
Jason cried out as an arrow pierced the side of his thigh. He swore pulling it out of him and tossing it to the ground. But his voice had given way to his position. Floodlights illuminated around him and Jason found himself in the spotlight.
He saw the archers reach of the arrows in their quivers. Jason shook the Fatherbox ferociously, desperate to get it to work.
"Come on. Come on!"
The Fatherbox glew with a red light. Jason knew the damaged thing only had one teleportation left in it. He held the Fatherbox up to his mouth to make sure it could hear him clearly.
He knew where to go.
It was suicide to go there. It was absurd to go back there.
But it was his only option.
It was the only place that Jason knew he could go to where Ra's wouldn't dare follow.
The Watchtower
April 22nd 2017
16:45 EDT
The frantic auroa of The Watchtower soaked into Artemis's nerves. Cassie's hoarse wails rang in her ears and dug at her gut. A video of the live feed floated on the virtual monitor. She tore her eyes away, water rising within them. It had already been an hour since the start of Inertia's broadcast and Cassie's pain did not get any easier to stomach.
Desperation ran through the veins of her team. This wasn't like when La'gaan was kidnapped by Manta. This wasn't a long term investigation. Inertia tortured Cassie, in real time, for all of them to see with a morbid joy that made them all too certain on the reality of his threat to take her life.
Everyone did what they could. Emily and Garfield sniffed through the streets of Bludhaven, trying to catch her scent. Nightwing and M'gaan scoured through Gotham, shaking down any villains and gangsters that could lead them to clues of Jason's whereabouts.
Bart and Wally did the same in Central City; badgering The Rogue's to find out what they knew about Inertia, to see if they've seen him around the city.
Batman worked on decoding the encryption on the video's encryption with The Batcave's computers while Robin did the same with The Watchtower's.
Artemis walked up next to him, watching him work. She felt it best she stayed with him, to be his voice of calm and reason. He didn't speak as he worked on decoding the video. But she knew it wouldn't take long before Cassie's bloodied face would cause him to snap again.
She looked over her shoulder. Black Canary scoured over another video of the live footage with Green Arrow, deducing what they could about her whereabouts based upon clues in the video.
Blue Beetle, Static, Ravager, and Joey stood behind them. They were prepared, in uniform, as they fidgeted. They chose to follow Tim up to The Watchtower, confident in his hacking skills. They were ready and armed to zeta to whatever platform was nearest to Cassie's location. She was one of theirs.
They were going to bring her home.
A bright golden light illuminated around them. The floor rattled as a Boom Tube opened up in the air. Artemis yelled for the other members to ready themselves; preparing for an attack. She jerked Tim out of the way as a barrage of arrows shot through the portal and onto the ground.
A man thumped to the ground as the portal closed and dissipated. Heavy breathing bellowed from his chest as he stayed for a moment on his hands and knees. He lifted his head up at Artemis.
A chill filled her chest. It was Jason; maskless, breathless and sweaty. Dark bags reseted under his eyes. Eyes never thought she would ever meet again.
Tim yelled as he lept at Jason. He swung his staff down onto him. Jason rolled out of the way way but Robin's persistence never wavered. With bared teeth and a crushing grip he went after Jason as he struggled to dodge him.
"Where is she?!" Tim yelled.
Jason groaned as Tim's staff hit him in the gut. He folded over. Tim struck his staff down onto his back.
Yells and footsteps emerged from his other teammates. Jason crumpled onto his side.
"I DIDN'T KNOW!" Jason screamed. His voice shattered the air around them.
Tim, fueled with rage, raised his arms and swung his staff down at Jason's head.
With the last of his energy, he snattched the staff in the air with a painful 'clunk' in his palm.
"I didn't know!" Jason yelled again, struggling to keep the staff in pushed up and away from him.
Tim jerked the staff from Jason's hand. He roared as he raised it into the air again, ready to bear it down.
Artemis came up behind him and laced her arms under his armpits and laced her fingers behind his neck. She pulled him back while in a headlock, yelling at him to calm down.
Static and Jaime approached Jason. Blue's cannon lit up as sparks flew in Static's hands.
"Stop! Stop!" Jason said wide eyed, holding out his hand and he pushed himself onto his knees. "I DIDN'T KNOW! I didn't know they were going to do that to her I swear!"
They jerked still.
Jason breathed heavy. "Stop. Just stop ok? Here."
They took a defensive stance as Jason reached into his jacket pocket.
"Look! Look!" He tried to calm them as he reached for the pill bottle in his jacket pocket. He yanked it out and shook the bottle frantically in front of him. The pills rattled as he threw the bottle at their feet. "They've been lying to me too. They've been drugging me just like those other kids."
As Tim still huffed away in her headlock, Artemis exchanged glances with her other team members.
"They told me they were just going to hold her for ransom." Jason's voice was quiet. The memory of Cassie's scream chilled his veins.
His eyes watered. "I didn't know, I didn't know."
A soft look came over Artemis. And for the first time in years, she finally saw a glimpse of the teammate; a glimpse of a boy that she remembered.
"I'll take you there. I'll take you to her." Urgency soaked Jason's words.
"I'll tell you whatever you need."