Disclaimer: Things you recognize and things I own are not the same.
Chapter 37
"The Joker has escaped from Arkham," Batman deadpanned as soon as all of us were in the conference area.
Robin rolled his eyes. "Again?"
"Yes, again. But this time, he brought Two-Face and the Riddler with him." Typing on the holographic computer, pictures of villains appeared on the screen. "And they've already met up with Merlyn, Onomatopoeia, Dynamix, and Killer Croc. You are to apprehend them. Generally, this would be League priority, but we are currently preoccupied with simultaneous prison riots occurring throughout the country."
"Prison riots?" Cam repeated.
"Not Belle Reve." Shifting to another setting, video feed from the penitentiary played. The inmates were all secured in their cells. "As soon as the riots began, we increased the security in order to prevent yet another outbreak. Superman and Wonder Woman are both on guard, to be safe.
"Take down the Joker's team. They are currently attacking Washington, DC. Be careful—these villains are highly dangerous, and how long it will take to subdue all the riots is unclear. As a precautionary measure, you will be accompanied by a Leaguer."
"And that means you have to listen to whatever I say," Roy told us, stepping forward from the shadows behind Batman.
Robin and Wally exchanged a high-five. "Sweet!" Wally exclaimed.
"Missed us?" Robin asked as Roy joined the group.
Playfully knocking their heads together, he responded, "Maybe. But three of these villains are Star City—my turf."
"And mine," I interjected.
"And mine," Cam added.
"I've been protecting it longest," he clarified, leading us from the room toward the exit.
"Hasn't Green Arrow been doing it the longest?" Cam offered innocently.
Roy scowled at him. "No need to be a smart-ass, Junior." Wincing, he amended, "Ice. Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Speedy," Cam objected, quickly maneuvering around him and getting into the bioship. "Oh, sorry, I meant Red Arrow."
"This is going to be a long flight," Roy grumbled.
Robin just smirked. "This is going to be hilarious."
It only took us to get into our seats for Cam to calmly ask, "So, Red—can I call you Red?"
"No," he grunted as the ship ascended.
"So, Red, the entire villain community is dying to know why you chose this new name. Any comment?"
"What's with the present tense?" Roy demanded. "You're not with the villain community anymore."
"They're still wondering," Cam insisted, an unsaid duh hanging in the air. "So what gives with the cop-out of a name?"
"It's not a cop-out."
"Dude, you changed one word of your mentor's name. It's not extremely original."
"I needed a name when I went solo. Speedy would only associate me with him."
"But Red Arrow doesn't? Do you know what associate means?"
Raquel laughed at that, immediately covering her mouth with her hand and sinking in her seat as Roy shot her a look. "You try thinking of a name that revolves around arrows." Glaring at Robin, who had just opened his mouth, he added, "That's not Robin Hood."
"I'm not saying it would have been easy," Cam insisted. "But you could have put in a little more work than, 'Hey, my uniform is red! I will be Red Arrow!'"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Roy countered, "Oh, because Ice is so creative? That's like calling myself Arrow. And let's not forget that your first alias was even more of a cop-out than mine."
Shrugging, Cam replied, "I was eight. It came out of affection."
Deciding not to touch on that subject, Roy veered the conversation back on course. "And who even cares that I changed my name?"
"You're whole reboot surprised everyone. It was big talk in Belle Reve."
"Really?"
"What else are we suppose to do there? Reform?"
"Who said what about it?"
"Well, Dad thought your costume was an improvement, you know, from looking like a five-year-old playing dress-up."
Both Wally and Robin burst into hysterics, and I allowed myself a smile at the anger that crossed his face. "My first uniform wasn't that bad!"
"You had a fricking Yankee Doodle hat!" Cam practically yelled, waving his arms for emphasis.
"It was kinda silly," Zatanna murmured, trying to keep her face stoic
"Was not!" Roy retorted hotly.
"Was," Cam said. "Anyway, Brick thinks the name is suiting 'cause it sounds like a stripper name and you look like a stripper."
"What?" Roy screeched, jumping up from his seat, but it was mostly drowned out by Wally and Robin's laughter. Zatanna, Raquel, and I were biting back out amusement, Kaldur looked more shocked than anything, Connor only seemed slightly intrigued, and Megan appeared completely confused, presumably because she had no idea what that meant.
"It's the whole no-sleeves things. Frost thinks you don't look like you're about to fight crime so much as jump out of a birthday cake."
Face blazing, Roy tried to say something, but since we were all too preoccupied with laughing at him, he refrained.
"Look on the bright side," Robin interjected once he calmed himself. "At least no one thinks you have a thing for prostitutes."
"What?" I inquired as Connor scowled and slumped in his seat.
"Don't worry about it," Cam instructed smugly.
"Don't give me that." I threw an arrow at the back of his head, and he squawked indignantly.
"Top-notch team you have here, Kaldur," Roy muttered sarcastically.
Kaldur smiled, a patient kind of smile. "Indeed it is. We are close-knit. It is most helpful when working in sync."
"Plus none of us look like we work the poles," Raquel added, snapping her fingers on the final word.
"I hate all of you," Roy grumbled.
"Love you too, Red," Cam called.
Instead of retaliating, he asked, "So what do you think these guys are up to?"
"Perhaps this is another attempt at the Injustice League," Kaldur proposed.
"Injustice League?" Cam repeated.
"Remember the day the giant plants attacked?" I said.
"Sure—it was all over the news."
"Well, that was the Injustice League: Joker, Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, Black Adam, Wotan, Atomic Skull, and Ultra-Humanite." Playing with his wrist computer, Robin pulled their pictures on the screen. "Turns out they were the fall guys for the Light."
"The Light?"
"Vandal Savage, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ocean Master, the Brain, and Klarion the Witch Boy." Their pictures replaced the others. "Dead set on bringing the human race to its "glorious evolution," which can only be accomplished by destroying the Justice League and allowing natural selection to take its course."
"Wow. Harsh."
"You think?" Wally was thoughtful for a moment. "You know, the Light was the one who installed Strange as Belle Reve's warden. Cam, do you think your dad has connections with the Light?"
"Doubt it. Dad isn't really the take-orders kind of guy. Besides, I doubt he could take anything known as a glorious evolution seriously, not to mention he thinks Savage is a cocky bastard and the Brain a total joke."
"Not much love among the villains," Zatarra mused.
Cam shrugged. "Pride thing. Trying to be better than the other guy."
Getting back on the original topic, Connor addressed Kaldur: "So you think this is an Injustice League revamp?"
"It is hard to tell," he admitted. "The League was merely a distraction for the Light. But with the prison revolts occurring, it would seem as though this group is the mastermind."
"Unless the Light's having a distraction for the distraction," Robin offered. "Though that seems a little excessive. You know, Joker might just be doing this for fun."
"Fun?" Megan repeated.
"He has a sick mind. He's bored, decides to have a big hurrah. There really is no thought process behind what he does."
"You'd think someone would learn to keep him locked up," Roy muttered.
"Why can't he be taken to Bell Reve?" Megan questioned. "I mean, he's just as dangerous as Brick or Icicle, maybe even more."
"He's not mentally stable," Robin explained. "And he legally can't be tried, which means the only option is an institution for the criminally insane."
"It shouldn't matter if he's nuts, he should be sent to Belle Reve," Cam murmured. "Clearly, Arkham isn't working, and the guy has no conscious."
"You speak as though you know him," Kaldur said quietly.
"Met him once—Dad had a meeting with Freeze in Gotham. They're talking when the clown shows up, unexpectedly, saying he wants to see how his Arkham buddy was doing. Spots me and gives me a creepy kind of smile, hands me a lollipop. Tries to, anyway, but Dad gets between us and knocks it out of his hand. Joker says it has nothing that would kill me, just do a little damage, and then he laughs. Dad tells him he better never go near me again and almost drags me out of there. I never saw him so freaked out before."
"Joker has that effect on people," Robin whispered, his voice serious.
The rest of the time was spent in a solemn silence.
"Okay, what's the plan?" Wally asked when out ETA was five minutes.
"There are seven of them, ten of us," Kaldur recounted. "Red Arrow, you are most familiar with Onomatopoeia, Merlyn, and Dynamix. How much of a threat do they pose?"
"Onomatopoeia is always armed with guns, so be careful of that; getting him from a distance is best. Merlyn has a shot that rivals GA's, so that's something to watch for. Again, taking him down with a long-shot is best since he prefers real arrows to trick ones. Dynamix is super-strong but not that intelligent. Work smart, not hard against him."
"Same with Killer Croc," Robin added.
Nodding slowly, Kaldur instructed, "As the group has scattered, so must we. Red Arrow, focus on Onomatopoeia; Artemis, I trust you against Merlyn. Superboy and I will focus on Dynamix; Ice and Rocket, take down Killer Croc. Robin and Miss Martian, the Joker. Kid Flash, the Riddler, and Zatanna, Two-Face."
"Before anyone does anything, take this." Robin pulled out a small bag of white pills. "Joker Venom antidote. Just in case."
After we had each taken one, Aqualad told Miss Martian to put the ship into camouflage mode and bring it down. From where we were, we could see Dynamix attacking civilians and Merlyn's arrows raining down, but where the others were, it was unclear.
"Miss Martian, the mind link, please."
We're good? she tested.
Good, Superboy replied, immediately leaving the ship to take his target.
As am I, Aqualad offered, following his comrade.
You have me, I answered, brandishing my bow and heading out.
The others' voices sounded in my head, but I was more focused on finding the enemy. From what I could tell, his weapons were coming from the top of some high-tech science lab. Long distance was not an option. Trying to be as inconspicuous as I could, I approached, sneaking inside and racing up the stairs—the staff must have evacuated because the place was deserted. Once I reached the door marked ROOF, I took a deep breath and gently opened it.
Merlyn's back was to me, but as soon as I pulled the string taut, he whipped around. "Green Arrow's newest pet," he sneered, releasing his weapon first.
Diving out of the way, I fired my own, replying, "Protégé."
Stepping away, letting the net plummet over the side, he spat, "Whatever you wish to be called; it matters not when I kill you."
"I'm shaking," I returned, notching an exploding arrow.
"Ignorant girl, I'm even better than the Emerald Archer himself." An arrow went whizzing by my head, getting stuck in the wall. "Do you think you really stand a chance against me?"
"Maybe not in a shoot off." I let the arrow go before sliding another in its place. "But in a fight, yes."
As the explosion went off at his feet, my second arrow almost found its mark, but he shot it mid-air. Foam materialized and coated the floor.
"Almost impressive," he mocked, notching another. "But not quite there."
With ease, I dodged the weapon, only to realize that was exactly what he wanted me to do as a rapid volley followed. One embedded itself in my shoulder; two grazed my stomach.
"What now?" he taunted, preparing his weapon.
Grimacing through the pain, I released another exploding arrow and took the opportunity to rip his arrow from my shoulder. Blood began to ooze.
Clicking his tongue disapprovingly, he scolded, "Really, I was expecting better. Green Arrow doesn't take on sidekicks lightly, you know. Such a shame you're nowhere near his caliber."
"Shut up," I spat, determined to end this once and for all.
"You first," he insisted, letting an arrow fly. It was aimed at my throat.
Throwing myself to the floor, I strung a regular arrow and let it go. As he side-stepped, I immediately redid the process, getting him in the thigh. As he hissed in pain, I returned to trick arrows and tried again for the net. This time, it found its mark.
"You haven't won!" he growled, trying to move his bow from underneath the heavy material.
"Oh, really?" I shot at his feet, and the heavy foam encased him from the neck down. "I think I did."
As he shouted curses, I walked down the stairs, ignoring the dull throbbing in my stomach and the burning in my shoulder. Merlyn's down. How is everyone else doing?
Onomatopoeia just fled, Red Arrow growled irritably. But I'll get him soon enough.
I'm still trying to find the Riddler, Kid Flash grumbled. These clues to get to him are taking forever!
Two-Face is down, Zatanna said. Unconscious on the steps of the White House.
Wish we could say the same, Ice mumbled.
Reptiles are officially on my list of Things to Hate, Rocket added.
You guys need help? I offered.
We need you more. Robin's voice cut through. We can't find the Joker.
What do you mean, you can't find him? He's kind of hard to miss.
There's been no activity from him, Megan explained. And none of the civilians have any idea where he might have gone.
Alright, I'll keep an eye out for him. But maybe he headed back to Gotham?
No way—Joker isn't the runner type. He likes the fight. He's still here, somewhere.
Okay.
Aimlessly, I began walking through the city, holding on tightly to my bow, keeping my eyes on my surroundings. My stomach churned as I left the main streets for the alleyways.
"Calm down," I told myself quietly. "You're not going to see him. Robin and Miss Martian will get him. They'll—"
A kind of whistling sound caused me to whirl around, just in time to see a knife flying towards me. Leaping out of the way, I notched an arrow and waited.
"Well hello!" The Joker approached me, a wicked grin on his face. "I have been so impatient to meet you."
I let the arrow fly, but he released a smoke bomb, leaving me unsure if he was hit or not.
"That wasn't very nice," he reprimanded from his hidden location.
Robin, I found the Joker. Getting here would be really appreciated.
We'll be there as soon as we can, Megan assured me as more knives flew towards me, emerging from the smoke. But we're pretty far from you right now.
That's not what I needed to hear, I grumbled, watching as the smoke faded and the Joker lightly tossed a canister from hand to hand.
Ice and Rocket are closest to you, Megan offered.
I'm coming, Ice promised. Rocket's just finished subduing Killer Croc. Miss Martian, can you send me a mental picture of her location?
"Artemis. What an intriguing name." He kept up his game of catch, his eyes never leaving me. "Tell me, how did you come up with it?"
"Tell me why you're here," I growled, notching another weapon. "Are you working on behalf of the Light?"
He laughed crazily, and I unwillingly shivered. "Oh, goodness, no. That was a one-time thing—all the planning and the scheming and the nitpicking. No, no, no. I'm like a mad dog. I just chase the cars, not having a clue what I'll do with them when I get them. It's the chaos I enjoy. Now, I hope you're not thinking of hitting me with that—this? In my hands? Joker Venom. And I'm sure Bird Boy gave you and the other kiddies the antidote, but he didn't give it to the city, I'm sure. And as heroes, you don't want anyone to die, right?"
"You still haven't told me why you're here," I spat, reluctantly lowering my weapon. The Joker didn't bluff, that much I knew for certain.
"Two-Face," he explained. "He's an egotistical man, as I'm sure you know, and he thought that he would be better suited at running this fine country. Between you and me, it would go straight to Hell, but, really, who am I to judge? Anywho, Two-Face practically begged me to help him, and I wasn't really doing much anyway, so I did. He's the one who called in the other villains, organized the revolts—I was just his escape route. So while him and the others are here to take the government by force—as though that would actually work, hubris is such a terrible thing—I'm here for the fun of it." Pouting, he grumbled, "Even though Two-Face explicitly forbid me from using my Venom."
Before realization could sink in, he threw the canister at me. I ducked out of the way, but it still nicked the very top of my head.
"Surprise!" he shouted, practically skipping over to me. "It was empty! Tricked you, didn't I?"
Instead of responding, I raised my bow, only to have him kick it out of my hands.
"Arrows are so boring!" he jeered, pulling out a long, thin blade. "See, with knives, you can get up close and personal. You can see the fear and the panic. Of course, I was hoping to use this on the Boy Blunder, but since you're here…"
He came at me, but I dodged and landed a punch in his jaw.
"Oh, you'll pay for that," he told me. "Though some flimsy steel won't be the most painful thing to be thrust inside of you."
That caught me off guard, enough for him to bring the knife across my stomach. I gasped and stepped back.
"Struck a nerve, did I?" Laughing, he tried to cut me again, but I kept out of his reach. "Oh, yes, it's old news what Tommy Terror did to you. Tell me, did it hurt? Lying there as he forced himself upon you?"
"Shut up," I growled, kicking him in the stomach. As he grunted, I dove for my bow and scrambled to my feet.
"Touchy, touchy. Really, you dare to use the bow when your hands are shaking like that?"
"Shut up!"
"Did you cry? Scream? Beg? What was it like, to have his hands all over you, to have him in you?"
I released a net arrow, but it wasn't even on target.
"Oh, poor little archer, to be on the receiving end of penetration!" Cackling hysterically, he ran toward me again. I brought my bow across his face, stunning him for a moment, but before I could do anything else, a ball of ice crashed into his back, knocking him to the ground.
"Ah, yes, the villain turned hero," he said, scurrying to his feet and turning to face Ice. "My, my, my, you've grown from the last time I saw you!"
"Shut it," he spat, launching an icicle at the creep's face.
"Tell me, how is Freeze doing? I so miss him in Arkham, though I suppose Belle Reve is an improvement. Such a shame Two-Face didn't have the right connections."
"What's that suppose to mean?" he demanded, forming another ball of ice.
"Why, if he knew the right people, your friends would be revolting, too! And I'm sure they would have escaped. You would have been reunited!"
Ice stared at him, deer in the headlights, and the Joker knocked the makeshift weapon from his hands before kicking him in the stomach.
"Wouldn't you love that?" he inquired. I notched an arrow, but he released another smoke bomb, making it too dangerous to fire, in case I hit my teammate. "I'm sure they all want to get their hands on you. And how long do you think you will live when they do? Snitches get stitches, as they say. But you're not just a snitch, you're a traitor! That's a death-sentence right there! And daddy's not going to save you—he'll probably be the one beating you till you die!"
Suddenly, the smoke cleared, and a batarang cut through the air and dug into the Joker's chest. Glancing up, he had time to see Robin sailing through the sky before his foot met his face and knocked him out.
"Are you guys alright?" Megan asked worriedly, flying down beside us.
"Just a few cuts," I muttered, tracing the slice on my abdomen.
"Fine," Cam murmured, shifting to normalcy.
"Police will get him and the others," Robin said. "The Team's waiting at the bioship."
We walked there in silence, Cam and I too preoccupied with our thoughts to speak. Even the rest of the Team's excitement over the victory couldn't affect us.
"Earth to Artemis, Earth to Cam." Raquel furiously waved her hand in front of our faces. "What is up with you two?"
"Nothing," he agreed simultaneously.
"Don't give us that," Zatanna protested. "Something's wrong."
"Your injuries are more severe than we thought?" Kaldur questioned, inspecting my shoulder.
"No. No. The Joker…he just got inside our heads," I explained.
"How?" Wally asked, approaching with medical gauze and bandages.
"He…he taunted me about the rape."
A single beat of silence passed before Wally wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry."
"Are you okay?" Megan asked, twisting in her seat so she could see me and keep her eyes on where she was going.
"Yeah. Yeah, I think so," I said, finding solace in the fact that everyone had gotten up and surrounded me.
"How'd he know?" Connor growled.
"Terror had a big mouth," I muttered.
As the girls hugged me, Roy softly addressed Cam: "What'd he say to you?"
With a shrug, he replied, "He just talked about the Belle Reve guys, what they'd do to me if they ever have the chance."
No one responded for a moment; clearly, none of them had anticipated possible consequences of Cam joining the Team.
"Those guys aren't getting out for a long time," Zatanna said.
"And when they do, we'll just have to open a can of Whoop-Ass on them if they even try to get close to you," Raquel assured him, slinging her arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks."
"For real, dude." Wally looked away from me and to him. "No one is going to hurt you."
"Teammates stick together," Robin insisted. The others nodded.
Cam smiled at that, but I knew he was still unnerved, the same way I was. After we'd gotten back to the Cave and everyone had retired for the night, I snuck into the kitchen, and, sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Cam, sitting at the table and staring into space.
"Hey." I sat down next to him.
"Hey."
"You doing alright?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Okay."
Facing me, he asked, "You want to sleep alone tonight?"
I shook my head. "No."
We chose his room, him above the covers, me underneath.
"You can't get what he said out of your head either, can you." It was more of a statement than a question.
"No. It's like, I finally put it out of my mind and something has to come along and remind me." I pulled the covers tighter. "And it sucks."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too. I know it must scare you, thinking about what might happen when those Belle Reve guys get out."
"I'll be fine." Gently, he brushed a hair of strand from my eyes. "And so will you. We have the Team to back us up, and our mentors, and you have your mom."
"And we have each other," I added.
Even in the dark, I could tell he was smiling. "Of course."
"We'll be okay."
"We'll be okay," he agreed.
And as I drifted to sleep that night, I knew that was the truth.