Cenver could not seem to form the words they so desperately wanted to as they stared at the unconscious boy before them. Icicle Jr. had come in looking so proud, stating that he had captured Project S.H.A.D.E with only a little assistance from Sports Master. Cenver doubted that since it looked like the boy had been caught in a bomb explosion more than frozen alive.
Cenver can't say they were pleased to learn only Project Shade had been captured, but one project was better than none, yes? (Even if this one project was a complete failure and didn't have any powers.) If Cenver had to be honest, which they must, they rather disliked Project Shade. The point of the experiments were to give the children powers, but Shade didn't receive any. Which was very disappointing.
Honestly, Cenver would have prefered Project G or N but Shade would have to do. That is until they walked into the room to see the so called Project Shade.
"...Is this a joke?" they asked, confused.
Icicle Jr.'s expression fell a bit, "No. This is them." he pointed to them.
"It is?" Cenver gawked. "Well… what happened to him? I mean…" they grabbed the boy's arm, rolling him over. "Okay, he's got black hair, I'll give you that- I guess, but this isn't Project Shade." This had to be a joke.
"It isn't?" Icicle Jr. looked so shocked. Oohhh…. It wasn't a joke.
"Huh?" Cenver clicked their tongue against their teeth, their voice sounding seconds from snapping. "Soooooo, let me get this straight. So you didn't just capture the project that is useless and has no powers, BUT, you also didn't actually capture said project and instead brought me some random dude?"
Icicle Jr. flinched, his face growing pale, "Uhhhhh…."
"Oh that is fabulous." Cenver slapped their forehead. "Idiots! Every single one of you!" they kicked Icicle Jr. in the stomach, making the boy gag and drop to the floor. "I gave you one job!"
Sports Master snickered from his spot. Icicle Jr. flashed a glare at him. "You knew this wasn't him, didn't you!" he accused.
Sports Master shrugged, "Maybe. But hey, Cenver, chill out. It'll be fine."
"I can't seem to see how that would be so." Cenver flicked a blade between their fingers, tempted to slit the unwanted prisoner's throat right there and then.
"This isn't a project, but this kid was still with them. And Project N was very upset when we dragged him off." Sports Master announced. Cenver found that interesting.
"Really?" they asked, glancing back at the boy. "I wonder why?" they grabbed the boy's chin, moving it from side to side to get the full look of his face. "What makes him special enough that she would keep him around?"
Sports Master shrugged, "Who knows? I bet it would be worth it to keep him alive and find out though."
"I suppose that is better than nothing." Cenver agreed. Smirking they rose to their feet and stepped back. With a snap of their fingers, their project stepped out of the shadows. "Project V?"
He bowed his head.
"Take this boy to one of the cells and makes sure he doesn't go anywhere." Cenver commanded. They paused when Project V continued to stare at them, unmoving. "..." Project V glanced at the boy, both bruised and battered.
Cenver slowly frowned as if sensing that their project seemed hesitant, like they wanted something. Project V never asked for anything aloud, but Cenver always knew when they did. "...Fine." they sighed, "Bandage them up then bring them to a cell."
Project V was quick to move after that, gently lifting the boy into his arms and delicately walking out of the room with him. That project, honestly, should really bandage up that bleeding heart of his. Doesn't suit people in their line of work.
Though, it's not like he has a choice in where he works.
00000-00000
Mark groaned as conciseness began to return to him.
He had never felt so sore in his entire life. Every bone ached as he rolled over. Taking a few second to moan over the fact this his head was spinning, he sat up. Something tugged against his wrists as he did so.
He stared curiously at them. Chains.
He had been cuffed and chained to the wall. "Wha-" he pulled on them, but they didn't budge. "What is going-" he winced, clutching his chest. It felt like his lungs were engulfed in fire. Glancing down at himself, he was surprised to notice he was shirtless and bandaged.
"...Uh…" Creeped out, his tapped delicately at the bandages covering his torso.
"I wouldn't move too much." a voice offered.
Jumping in surprise, he squinted his eyes to peer through the darkness. He was in some sort of cell that lead out into a long hallway with other cells. Kind of a medieval setting.
"Who… who is there?" he asked towards the bars, inching towards them to peer out. At first he saw no one, but as he investigated, he could spot a tall man leaning against the wall not to far away. A strange helmet covered his face, and his clothes were torn at the pant legs and sleeves.
"Who are you?" he asked. When the man didn't reply, Mark wonder if he had heard him. "Who are you? Where are we? What are you going to do with me? Where are the others?" he demanded a little louder, gripping the edges of the cell bars. "And not to sound creepy here, but were you the one to take off my shirt? Can I have it back? This is kind of uncomfortable." At long last, the helmet wearing man turned his head to him.
"You shouldn't speak." He said. The voice of this man was so soft, Mark had to strain his ears to hear. It was almost like this was the first he spoke in years.
"What?" he asked.
"One shouldn't talk. Especially when they are no position to fight back. Words are the only thing you have right now, so I would use them wisely."
Considering the strange advice, but not understanding it, Mark pressed his face against the bars to get a full look of everything he could. Looking back at what he could assume to be his guard, he sighed. "...So are you going to say anything then?" he asked.
The guy didn't reply.
"Okay then." Mark sighed. "...By my shirt question still stands." Then, there was a bang, as if a door has just opened and closed. The sound of rushing footsteps, a clap, then a second person. He couldn't see their full face, but he could see the wicked smile pulling at their lips.
"Oh how I wanted to meet you." the cheer. The guard that had been watching Mark backed off a little to let this new person speak.
"...Who are you?" Mark asked.
"You may call me Doctor Cenver. Or simply Cenver if you wish to speak formally." They mused from the other side of the bars,. "Your name is Mark, yes? It was written on the back of your shirt."
Mark frowned at the person in front of him. HIs apparent guard's voice echoed in his ear. Use his words wisely. Like he should be taking advice from his captor, but Mark had nothing else he could do. So he said nothing.
"Silence is it?" Cenver noted. "Well, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I'll let you ask whatever you want first."
Mark did have questions, but how was he suppose to figure them out if he kept quiet. Be smart about this. Though he isn't sure what this Cenver person would gain from him just talking. "W-What do you want from me?" he hissed.
"From you?" Cenver sounded surprised, "Nothing at all my boy. You on your own are irrelevant to the plan. Now, your connections with others however, that is what interests me."
Mark gave a slight tilt of his head, "What does that mean?"
"When we captured you, there were a few others in your company, yes?"
He shut his mouth, refusing to answer. "…"
"A girl, a little boy and a few young men? As well as a super clone? I'll admit, I was quite surprised to learn that Project Match had stumbled into your care. How did that happen I wonder?" at Mark's silene, they continued, "Wise enough to keep quiet I assume? Doesn't matter. My men already spotted you with my Projects. Nicole, Giotto and Giovanni are the names you know them by." They paused, "Or does Giovanni still go by Shade nowadays? I almost feel touched that he would continue to use the project name I gave him."
"Got to hell." Mark grunted. Nicole didn't say much of her past, but he would have to be an idiot not to realize that it wasn't pretty. That her eyes hadn't been replaced with machines by choice. And now he was talking to the person behind it.
He felt an odd rage boiling at the pits of his stomach.
"Snippy snippy." Cenver whistled. "Does not matter to me. I don't require information from you, only a confirmation that Nicole is aware of your presence. You being here is enough."
He didn't understand what Cenver meant by that.
"You seem confused." They cooed. "Allow me to explain. Project N has avoided our detection for years. Her use of mechanics and metal helps her avoid all scanners and information that could locate her. However, while she is a master at taking herself off the grid, she struggles to do that with others. Letting anyone into her life is the biggest weakness she could have for they will be her downfall."
"I don't… understand." Mark admitted reluctantly. Yet he also wondered if that was also the reason Nicole didn't travel together with her two brothers.
"Then let me make this clear." Cenver's hand pushed through the bars at a speed Mark hadn't been able to stop before their fingers wrapped around his neck. "Project N will come after you. And when she does, we will be there, waiting for her."
Scrambling to rip the fingers away from his throat, Mark threw himself back, coughing. "S-She wouldn't do that. She is too stubborn to risk it."
"Is she now? Are you sure about that?" Cenver waved their finger back and forth at him. "Shall we make a wager to see if she does?"
Rubbing at his throat, he glared at this maniac. They simply rose back to their feet and turned away. "She won't…" he grumbled, slamming his fist against the bar angrily only to wince and clutch his chest.
"Wouldn't move too much." Cenver suggested. "Two broken ribs." she tsked. "Would be a lot worse if my kind little project over there didn't bandage you up. Isn't he just a doll?" they cooed, moving their hand out to pat the guards head. The guard flinched, moving to step away.
Cenver chuckled at that. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go pick up my package." they gave a wave of their hand. "Dear little project, watch over this boy for me until I return, alright?" His guard nodded his head only once. "Good boy."
"Wait!" Mark called to Cenver, "Where are you going?!" he slammed his hands into the bars violently.
"I have to go pick up an old friend." Cenver answered simply. "If I don't hurry I might just miss the pick up. Can't have that. I'll see you another time Markimoo."
-00000Nicoel000-
"I was careless!" Nicole slammed her foot into the wall. Stephan flinched at the heavy impact.
"This isn't your fault Nicole." Shade said.
"Yes it is! I should have known Cenver would do something like that." She screamed. They were out of Gotham at this point, stopped at an old gas station to get some supplies. Match had only begun to gain consciousness and was resting still in the back of the Van.
He had noticed instantly that Mark was gone and when they explained what happened, Match looked heartbroken. Nicole couldn't bare to look at him and instead spent her time pacing around the van.
Every option was running through her head a million miles a second, hoping to figure anything out. She had been so angry, so confused to how they found them, she went over every option. It wasn't until Match woke up that she considered the possibility of Cenver having a back up plan to get him back. And when she looked into it, she found what she was dreading. Embedded deep into Match's forearm was a tracking device.
With a snap of her finger it had been disabled.
Just a snap of her finger and the threat of them being followed was gone. SO how come it took her this long to consider a tracking device?! If she had just done that in the first place none of this would have happened!
"Completely careless!" she roared, slamming her fist into the back of the truck, indenting it.
"You didn't know." Shade insisted.
"I should have! It should have been one of the first things I considered but I didn't!"
"Can't we go get him?" Gio asked with wide eyes.
"It is too dangerous." Shade sighed. "We wouldn't even know where they took him anyway."
"Too Dangerous." Nicole muttered. "It is always too dangerous to do anything anymore…" she tipped over the nearest trashcan, taking her frustration out on any inanimate object she could find. "AGH!"
"That won't help." Shade sighed.
Nicole's glare could kill as she looked at her brother, "Keep talking Vanni, see what happens. And I swear if you try to get me to call you Shade one more time, I'm ripping out your tongue." she turned to stomp around the van. Shade watched her go with a calm if not pitying expression. Waiting a few minutes up until the point where the light pole threatened to tip over from her kicking it, he moved around the van.
"Nicole." he said.
"What?" she roared. He approached her, extending out his hand. His expression said nothing but understanding and remorse.
"Let him go Nicole." he gripped her shoulder, "Let him go."
He repeated it a few more times and when he thought she understood he stepped away to give her some space. The thing was though, she couldn't.
If it were anyone else, then perhaps she could. Yet as much as she knew how dangerous it was, that her going after him would risk her freedom being taken away and the past 3 years of running mute… she couldn't.
She couldn't let Mark go.
Maybe it was because she knew if their positions were switched, Mark would come after her. Or maybe it was because she has already lost so many people to Cenver, she didn't want to give that monster the satisfaction of another.
Or maybe… just maybe, Mark had earned something from her. Loyalty. Trust. Love.
Those three words that Nicole dare not give to anyone else but family.
-0000Arinna0000-
"I am not ready for this." I said for the 10th time that day as Kaldur gave me a boost up to the third story window.
"You can do this." Kaldur assured me, leaping up to follow my entrance. With Red Arrow's immense help, we tracked Sports Master down to an abandoned warehouse in, believe it or not, Philadelphia.
I have never been so unwilling to join a mission in my entire life. I want to do this mission less than when I didn't know how to control my powers. I mean, is it just a thing that when I want to go I can't and when I don't want to I have to?
"Everything will be fine." Kaldur reached out to pat the top of my head, brushing my bangs out of my face.
"You keep saying that, but it isn't making me feel any better.' I bit my thumb nail, "What if she isn't even here?"
"That is why we are here to see if she is." Robin said through our mental mind link.
"...And if she is?" I hesitated.
"We save her, duh. You dumb log." Conner snorted.
"I will teleport to you and force push you." I threatened.
"Is that really what you are calling your powers?" My brother questioned, "The force?"
"What else am I supposed to call it?" I grumbled, following Kaldur as we snuck through the halls. Ducking down when someone passed, we peeked out at them. Guy with a machine guy. Yeah, if that doesn't scream "Something illegal is going down here", I don't know what does.
"Definitely something going on at least." Artemis says, most likely spotting the same thing we did.
"From the looks of it, they seem to be moving a lot of equipments, shipping it off to who knows where." Zatanna said from her location in the building. "Mostly weapons and technology based goods from what I can tell."
"So, if you were a bad guy, where would you put a prisoner." Wally inquired,
"A creepy dungeon?" Rocket offered
"I don't think there are cells here."
"Probably in a pod that is in a box." Conner grumbled. "Just a suggestion though."
"One that we shouldn't ignore as a possibility." Canary finally spoke up. It was almost strange having the League here since it is usually just the team. Not that I don't appreciate the help or anything, it is just weird.
"Hey guys?" Flash spoke up.
"What is it Flash? Did you find something?" Green Arrow inquired.
"Quick question first. Arinna, are you in the East corridor? Floor 5?" Flash inquired. I glanced at my surroundings.
"No." I say, "I'm towards the lower levels. Floor 3." I paused, "...Why do you ask?"
Creeping forward, I lifted a hand to my ear when I heard The flash say, "Well, then yes, I found something. Or someone. Got eyes on our missing Mama bear." A sharp intake of breath, and I gulped. "East corridor, floor 5. We got company though."
Kaldur and me shared a quick glance. When I couldn't seem to manage the words, Kaldur put a hand on my shoulder, "We require a plan."
"Go in, grab Phillis Kentin and get out." Conner suggested simply.
"Short and too the point, but we might need a little more to it than that." Red Arrow said. I think that sounds like a decent plan.
"Beat up bad guys we see." I added.
"You see, perfect plan." Conner agreed. Red Arrow sighed for his mental connection and I should practically see him pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head.
"How about we asses with situation and exactly how many people there are before we do anything." Robin suggested with a heavy sigh. Agreeing to that, we all moved to floor 5. I could hardly stop myself from leaping out the window whenever we passed one.
Glad Kaldur held on to my hand the entire time, we crept around a few boxes, using them as cover. Peeking out, we could spot a few more men moving several boxes to the cars down below. Standing in the center of the room however, illuminated by the light above, was Sportsmaster. He was looking down at a smaller figure who appeared to be handcuffed and chained to the ground.
"Doc, this would have been so much easier for you if you had just cooperated." He said to the woman handcuffed. He was fiddling with the cuffs for some reason, looking annoyed. The woman was glaring furiously at Sports Master, tugging at her chains and against his grip.
"Says the simpleton." the woman scoffed back yanking her arms away. "You've done enough, don't touch me." she snapped. Sports Master chuckled wickedly.
"Aww, boo-hoo. Can't handle handcuffs that are just a little too tight." he faked a sob. "May the bleeding hearts of the world unite." he reached for her. She whipped around to avoid him, yelling out. It was only then that I could truly see her face. Or I suppose my face. An older version of me that is.
My whole body went numb, a sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. I felt sick to my stomach and I couldn't understand why.
The hair, eyes, expressions; all of it was me and I couldn't seem to comprehend it. Or the fact that this woman kicked Sports Master in the knee the closer he got, making him tumble over. His face was growing red with rage.
"Yeah I definitely call that a Mama Bear." Wally spoke up. "Plan?"
"Still working on it." Robin says. Sports Master is rising to his feet at this point, cracking his knuckles. He moved threateningly to the woman, my… Mom, and lifted a fist. This was going to get real ugly real fast if we didn't do anything.
"Hey, I got one. It's called, Don't let Arinna's Mom get pummeled." Seconds later, Conner was leaping out from his hiding spot, slamming himself into Sports Master.
"...Figures." Robin sighed, not far behind him. Together he leaped out with Bat Man and the two of them charges the men with guns.
"Team, engage." Kaldur commanded and in one large swoop we jumped out together. I hesitated for a brief moment my legs shaking. Just ignore that girl standing in the corner that looks like a newly born deer. Don't mind me...
Watching the others begin in hand to hand combat, I wavered, using a box to support myself. Get it together Arinna. Come on.
Then she looked at me.
Startled, I tumbled over my own feet, toppling over the box and into another open one. Landing painfully on my back and what I could assume to be some guns or something, I held in a scream. I couldn't breath…
As much as I breathed in it just wasn't enough. More and more I inhaled all the way up until a pair of arms reached inside the box and tugged me out. "Hey!" Captain Marvel gawked at me. "No time for naps right now!"
I wheezed at him, "...Can't…Bre-breath..."
"Don't worry!' he tucked me under his arm like a football, "I got'cha."
"..." I blinked once, my eyes widening in horror when he held out his hand like a football player would and barrelled into a few men blocking the way. I don't know if I screamed or not as we slammed into Sports master, but I think so. That or I made a pig snort noise.
Could go either way.
Placing me down, Cap gave me a thumbs up before he leapt up to help Artemis. I moved from him to watching Sports Master roll into a cart after Cap hit him. He stumbled to his feet, pulling out a weapon. He did not look like a happy camper, but despite his fall a second ago, he was easily able to block the three arrows Red Arrow fired at him.
"Should have known you'd stick your nose into this." Sports Master huffed at him.
"Perhaps you should check your whole car for bugs before driving off to your big important base." Red Arrow smirked, firing another arrow. The two collided into each other after that, punching and kicking like crazed animals. I stumbled to help him.
"Hey!" I yelled. Sports Master turned to me just to see me flick my fingers and his body sent shooting across the room.
"I had that." Red Arrow glared at me.
"...And I finished it." I concluded, blowing on my fingers like they were guns.
"Why you-" his hissed, cutting off to grab my shoulder and tug my down when a blade threatened to decapitate me. In an almost awe I gazed upward at the blade moving above my skull, my reflection glistening in the metal's surface.
...Cheshire was here. Huh.
"You!" Red Arrow bellowed, leaping over me to her.
"You sounds so excited to see me." she purred, lunging at him. So, I'm not the only one who thinks these two are flirting with each other, right? Watching Cheshire curl around Red Arrow's body, pinning his arms to his side, she leaned towards him, wiggling her eyes brow in a... suggestive manner. I turned my head away, feeling flustered. PG-13 people.
"Don't just stand there!" Red Arrow snapped at me, "Do something."
"..." I peeked at him from between my fingers, "...So um… okay, but are you two possibly-?"
"Lovers?" Cheshire cooed dramatically.
"We're not!" Red arrow snapped, red faced.
"You sure?" she tilted his chin down to bat her lashes at him. He blushed, pulling himself a way to fire an arrow at her.
"...Then you are?" I asked him.
"Wha- NO!" he screamed, hitting me. "It isn't like that. She's... She's a villain!"
...So then, that is a 'maybe' that they are a thing? Or Red Arrow just gets flustered easily when flirted with.
"Aww, come on Red. I'm not that bad." she pouted.
"Tell that to your jail cell." he countered.
"That isn't very nice." she chided, "And to think, I even brought you a little gift." she tossed a cylinder at us. Expecting it to explode or something it instead just rolled on the floor. We stared at it.
"...That was suppose to go off." Cheshire frowned.
"Oh." I nodded.
"...Just uh- just give it a minute." she insisted.
"Okay." I agreed.
"Uh- No." Red Arrow corrected scoldingly, kicking the canister back towards Cheshire. Ducking away from it, she rolled just as it went off.
"See you just needed to give it a little time." she cackled, pulling out another one. Jumping back towards the stairs the two of use sprinted after her. Quick to react, I dropped down when she threw the bomb while Red Arrow flipped back, stumbling a bit down the steps.
Not even glancing at him, I continued my pursuit of Cheshire, moving up to the top step to grab her arm. She whipped around to kick me but I side stepped away. Swiping at her, she caught my fist and bent it. Recognizing the move from Canary, I bent my knees and followed the movement to prevent bone damage, using that as leverage to lift my leg up and wrap it around Cheshire's shoulder, flipping her.
She hit the ground with a thumb, grunting, "You've… gotten better." she noted, flipping back to her feet. Charging once again, we attacked, my arm ending up in her grip as she brought her other hand to my face, "But I've been doing this a lot longer sweetheart." A strange kind of… gas-liquid, shot out from a compartment in her wrist. Not fully, but not fully solid, if that makes sense.
"Ahh'!" I shrieked as the gas reached my eyes.
Elbow slamming into my face, I stumbled back right onto the stairs. Falling back on them, I tumbled down at least 5 steps before I landed in Red Arrow's arms. "I got'cha!"
I took a few sharp breaths, feeling Red Arrow scramble to remove my mask, tossing it to the side. "Don't move." He commanded, turning my head left and right to examine the damage. The sizzling sound I heard would be my beautiful mask melting from what I could only assume to be acid gas of some sort.
"With some miracle you're good." He said gratefully. Some miracle indeed. I could have been blind for the rest of my life if that mask wasn't so thick.
"I'm fine." I say when I recalled that Cheshire was getting away. With a nod we bolted after her, my eyes feeling so exposed suddenly without my mask. Ignoring it for now, realizing they both already knew what my identity was, we cornered Cheshire as well as Sportsmaster towards the back of the ware house.
"It's over." Wally growled, standing together with Robin, Red Arrow and me.
"Guess you'll have to tell Cenver that they'll need a new head scientist." Robin snickered.
Sports Master chuckled, "Cenver has always hated sending someone to do their dirty work. Always preferred to handle the situation themselves through their own means. Can't say they probably didn't expect this happening anyway. They are always one step ahead."
"I mean, who didn't expect the little worms to eventually show up right? They are persistent after all." Cheshire grumbled.
"Guess they shouldn't have sent you then, huh?" Wally quipped.
"Wouldn't say that kid. We still have a few tricks up our sleeves." Sports Master rose to his feet. Stepping back, he lifted something in his hands. A detonator. Shocked, Wally and Robin flinched. "Get down!" Wally yelped and the four of us dropped to the floor just as the wall behind Sports master imploded, leaving a large hole. "You may have won tonight, but you can't keep any eye on those two forever. One way or another, the light is gonna get there hands on Project A."
"Over our dead bodies." Robin yelled, leaping to his feet to charge at the two, tossing a exploding device.
"I'm sure we can arrange that." Cheshire tossed a kunai to stop the explosion from reaching them, causing a blanket of smoke to envelop the area.
Through the smoke, I managed to see Sports master lift his arms up and fall back into the hole in the wall, "See ya heroes." UH…. he does know we are on the 5th floor, right? He had to...
"Wait!" Wally ran to edge, looking down to the ocean below. Spotting Sports master, he scowled to see there was a water bike waiting for him directly below, giving the perfect escape route for Cheshire and him. "Of course." Wally huffed, watching the villain speed off without another word.
"Bat Man." Robin said into his communicator. "Sports master is making his escape through the bay. Requesting support in his pursuit."
"Confirmed." Bat Man said through the communicator.
We left tracking Sportsmaster and Cheshire down to Bat Man, while the rest of handled the remaining goons in the building. It wasn't too tough to complete the rest of the mission but as the last criminal fell to the floor, a sickening feeling formed in my stomach.
Captain Marvel was uncuffing Phillis Kentin, my Mother, as I thought this, talking to her in such an excited manner, "I gotta say I am so thrilled to meet you." he gushed. The woman blinked a few times at him, rubbing her wrists. I couldn't bare to look at her and turned my back to shield my face.
...What exactly was I hiding from anyway? I mean she is probably nice. Maybe she likes movies or something too.
"Well um… thank you, mister-? she trailed off. I listened to the conversation rather than watch it.
"Marvel. Captain Marvel." he says. "I'm here to save ya from these meanies." he pointed to the collapsed men.
"I could see that." she noted. "But… why? How did all of you-" she glanced around the room, confused, "How did all of you know I was here?"
"It took a lot of information seeking." Robin says.
"And some dumb luck." Red Arrow added. "Hi there."
"This is probably very strange for you." Canary stepped forward, her voice kind, "But I assure you, we are here to help."
"If she is even really Phillis Kentin." Robin says in a hushed tone.
"Her face does match that in the photo." M'gann shrugged. The faces matched perfectly, and in truth, they didn't need the photo to see the resemblance between Arinna and Mrs. Kentin.
"You're the Justice League." Phillis nodded to them knowingly. "Heroes. Are-" she left out a little breath, "So I'm actually being rescued, yes? This isn't some trick or alternative goal type of thing where you get close to me so I feel comfortable and just spout out all the knowledge I have freely?"
Canary was shocked to hear her even suggest such a thing, "Of course not." she frowned.
"But we understand if you are hesitant to believe us." Kaldur cut in.
"Yeah." Phillis agreed, her eyes scanning over the group. "You all look a little young." she noted to the team.
"Next generation of heroes." Wally said proudly.
"Huh." Phillis seemed to find that interesting, "Well, okay."
"Not to kill the mood or anything guys-" Flash smiled, "But we should go. Won't take long for the cops and news reporters to get here and I don't think all of us need to stick around for this."
"Good idea." Artemis yawned, "I'm beat anyway."
"First priority should be getting Phillis Kentin somewhere safe." Kaldur instructed. "Take her off the grid until we can assure Sports master will not follow her."
"Agreed." Flash was already starting to contact Bat Man to get a secure location. Letting them get to business, the others were careful to talk to Phillis, asking her if she was injured in anyway, felt unwell, or perhaps needed medical attention. She assured them she was tired and had a few bruises, but was fine. At least physically.
She seemed so fragile compared to my friends, who stood tall and confident, which she looked… timid if not hesitant to do anything they asked.
"Clarity?" Wally glanced over his shoulder. "You wanna head out first and we'll follow?" he motioned to the door. Realizing he was giving me a chance to get a head start and get a new mask before we did anything else, I sucked in a breath. I couldn't seem to move. My mind felt so torn from just turning around and admitting who I was or just running away now and never having anything to do with Phillis Kentin.
"Clarity?' Wally asked again. I could feel a few eyes on my back, then a question…
"I… I'm sorry, this may sound strange-" Phillis said hesitantly, her eyes intently on my back, her head tilted slightly. There was a look on her face as if she recognized me, but just couldn't explain where she knew me from, "Do I know you?" Like you see someone from behind and they look so much like a friend you have, but you are hesitant to call us because you aren't completely sure... "You just seem so..." she cut herself. "Well, familiar, but that would make sense." she chided herself.
I almost broke down and I can't say why. I felt so emotional and the emotions were too wide and varied for me to come to terms with them.
"Clarity." Robin stressed.
I turned, spinning on the heels of my feet like tearing off a band-aid. My gaze locked with Phillis Kentin's, our eyes widening simultaneously.
Startled, she stepped back, hand whipping up to her mouth to catch a gasp that escaped her lips. "Wha-" she faltered, falling back onto a crate. Captain Marvel shot out an arm to steady her, his gaze shifting back and forth between us. No one said a word through the entire moment, all of them looking like they were holding their breath.
"It.. can't be." Phillis shook her head in disbelief. "Y-You can't be real."
"She is." Zatanna spoke up, her voice seemingly booming in this quiet space.
I sucked in a breath when Phillis straightened, taking a shaky step towards me, "It's... really you?" she breathed, her lips barely moving. My mind was still struggling to catch up with reality. Then, the tips of her fingers were grazing my cheek. Tensing at the touch, I stepped back.
The woman was surprised and lowered her hand. "It… It is really you, right?" she murmured. "You aren't just a hallucination? O-Or a-a dream?" her voice cracked and my stomach tightened for reasons I couldn't understand.
"I'm real." I whisper.
"You're real." she nods. Glancing at her hand, she reached for me again, a kind of determination burning in her eyes. I forced myself not to move as she runs her fingers up my cheek, brushing a bang out of my eyes. The tight feeling I had in my stomach didn't seem to want to go away, but something felt so familiar about that touch I couldn't help but sigh contently.
Almost as if I had just regained something, but I couldn't quite say what it was.
"Hi… Mom." I say
Like some kind of tipping point, she let out a wrecked sob, stepping towards me to wrap me in an embrace. I let her hug me for a long time, my arms hanging limply at my side. It didn't feel right to hug her back.
To hug someone who was so overjoyed to see me yet I couldn't seem to bring up an ounce of sympathy back. It would have felt like pity if I even tried.
I mean… what am I supposed to say to a person I don't remember? How do I hug a stranger back so tightly?
-000 Mark 0000-
Repeatedly smacking his head against the cell bar, Mark sighed in sheer boredom, "Don't you people do anything for fun around here?"
"Define fun." his guard, the apparent Project V, inquired from the middle of his crossword puzzle. Seriously, the guy was messing with a crossword. Had gone through the entire book of crosswords in the span of time that Mark had been in this cell. He could at least share one of them, but no.
"Games. Food. Tv. Chit chat. Anything."
Project V mused, "The normal fun people have here is torturing prisoners. If you would like I can go fetch Savage-"
"I'm good," Mark paled, "That guy gives me the creeps. Just... rubs yeah the wrong way." he shivered, "Boredom is great. Love boredom." the chuckle of his guard was oddly comforting to Mark's ear. Despite his looks and current job, Mark found the man unthreatening. Which was saying a lot since this guy was also keeping him captive.
"So… what is your name?" Mark asked his guard.
"I'm known here as Project V." he spoke. Mark choked on his own breath when the guy grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and handed it to him. Best Guard Ever.
"Project V." he smiled. "Uh… thanks for bandaging me up. Not thanks for keeping me prisoner." Project V gave a half nod as if he expected as much. "So is the V short for something? Vladimir? Varley?"
"No."
"Victor? Victoria? Do you have a girls name and just cut it short so no one knows?" he winced. The guard folded his arms, shaking his head.
"No."
"Then-"
"It's just V." the agitated tone shut him up. "What kind of prisoner are you anyway? You would think you would be cowering in fear or something right now."
"I could ask you the same thing Mr. V Guard." Mark huffed at him, chugging down the water. "What kind of Guard doesn't threaten people with starvation and dehydration…" he paused, "Can I have some more water?"
"You should ask that before you question why I'm keeping you hydrated." V rose to grab the cup, filled it with water, then handed it back. Plopping back in his seat, he slumped into it, "I wouldn't waste the time bandaging you up if I was just gonna let you die in the cell…"
Mark blinked in surprise, "That's… pretty nice of you."
"Is it really?" V mused.
"It is." Mark nodded. "Like, really nice. I was sure I would be dead by now."
"I could always change my mind."
Mark bit his lip, "Will you?"
"Probably not. But it doesn't matter what I think or want to do. If Cenver wants me to do something, I do it."
Mark found that confusing, "Why does it matter if Cenver tells you to or not. If you don't want to do something you then you shouldn't do it."
"That isn't how it works here." V folded his arms. "So shut up and be a normal prisoner."
"Fine." Mark sighed. With at least 5 minutes of quiet, V sighed when Mark asked, "...Can I borrow one of your cross words?"
Handing him a pencil and one of them, he watch as Mark rolled onto his stomach, swayed his legs behind him, and bit down on the pencil eraser. "Hmm. A six letter word for something resembling a buttress." he paused, "C.E.N.V.E.R." he spelled out.
V choked, something sounding like a snort escaping his nose as he fell forward. Mark either ignored or didn't notice the reaction and continued on with the puzzle. V scrambled to get back onto his feet, a smile spreading over his face behind the mask.
"Are you good at Cross words?" he asked
"Not really." Mark shrugged. "You seem to be awesome at them." he glanced at the pile of completed ones.
"Only thing I can spend my time doing."
"That is almost sad." Mark scrunched up his nose, "Don't you have any other hobbies?"
"No."
"Friends?"
"No. I don't get out much."
"Pen pals."
"I-" V scratched his arm awkwardly, "Haven't spoke to anyone this long for… a while now." he says softly.
"And I haven't been chained to a wall and threatened with death for at least 2 years." Mark agreed.
"..." V slowly turned his head, "...What?"
"Nothing." Mark waved it off quickly. "So uh… why are you here? You don't seem like the kind of guy that would be doing all this bad guy stuff. Just doesn't seem quite your style."
"I'm almost glad to hear that." Project V admitted with a little sigh. "But I have my reasons."
"And those are?" Mark could feel the scowl pointed in his direction. "Oh come on. I'm not going to be going anywhere for a while anyway, might as well."
"It is complicated." V grunted, "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." he dared.
When V didn't say anything for a good 10 minutes, Mark started to wonder if he had upset the man. He didn't know how to set things right between them. Though honestly it shouldn't matter since they are in the whole Prisoner and Guard relationship right now.
"I'm protecting someone close to me."
Mark's elbow slipped against the ground and his chin hit the ground. Rolling over to clutch the injury, he yelled out. "OW!"
"Are you alright?' V panicked and rushed to the bars. "What happened?"
"I just… slipped." Mark grunted, having not expected V to speak up when he did. It surprised him.
"Do you require an ice pack?"
"No." Mark waved it off, "I'm good." he opened and closed his jaw a few times, "No serious damage done."
"That is good." V slowly crept back to his seat.
"Yeah." Mark glanced at him, "...Who exactly are you protecting from doing this? I would say you are doing the opposite of protecting."
V looked away, his hand gripping the side of his seat tightly, "My family."
Mark leaned a little into the bars, "Are they… is Cenver threatening them?" he narrowed his eyes.
"In a way." V sighed. "For now, I do what Cenver says and in return, they leave my sister alone."
"Sister." Mark noted.
V flinched, fumbling over his words. It was almost amusing to watch, "I-I mean, well… yeah my sister but that-" he cut himself off. "Yes. My Sister."
"Younger or Older?" Mark inquired, curious. V seemed tense to even talk about this, but answered anyway.
"Younger."
"And if you don't do what Cenver says, something bad will happen to your little sister." Mark took a guess. V nodded reluctantly.
"This is the only way I can protect her until… until I can find a chance to get us both out."
Mark was shocked to hear this but found he believed every word. Resting his forehead on the bar, he hummed in thought. "Sounds like something any good big brother would do."
V shifted, "...You think so?" he asked timidly, his voice wavering with uncertainty.
"Yup." he watched V's body relax, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"That…" the watery laugh the guy let out almost broke Mark's heart. "T-That's good to hear."
"Thanks for talking to me V." Mark says.
V nodded. Moving forward, he reached through the cell bars to grab the cup by Mark's side, refilling it and returning it back where it came, "It's um…actually it's..." The guard cleared his throat, "My name is Vincent. Vincent Kentin"
"Vincent." Mark marveled. "Nice name."
"Thanks. My Dad named me it."
"Well Vincent Kentin." Mark grinned, "It is nice to meet you." he held out a hand through the bars. Glancing around, Vicent shuffled towards him.
"Like wise." he says, taking Mark's hand and shaking it.
-0000 Nicole and Match 0000-
Match awoke to the sound of metal scratching against metal. Turning his head to the noise, he spotted Nicole curled up at the edge of the van, pressing some batteries to a flashlight and failing in keeping them together. "Really?" she grunted when a battery slipped out of her grip and onto the ground. scrambling to follow it, she paused when she noticed Match's gaze on her.
"Hey." she greeted. He didn't react at first, only stared for what seemed like forever.
Then he lifted his hands, "It was my fault, wasn't it?" he signed. She didn't quite understand what he meant.
"Was what you fault?" she asked.
"Star Labs. Mark being taken. That was all my fault."
"No Match. That wasn't-" his hand reached out to grab hers, giving it a tug. His expression was contorting into rage and frustration, an emotion that one didn't often see on Match's gentle features.
"It is my fault. We were there because of me. There because my body was-" He stopped his signing, struggling to figure out how to sign it. Snapping his fingers, his frustration only growing worse, Match slammed his fits into the ground. Nicole didn't move as he indented to floor of the van. "Useless." That didn't seem to be the right word he wanted to say, but he used it anyway.
"You mean unstable?" she asked, showing him the sign for it. He nodded.
"Unstable. Unstable. Unstable." he repeated the sign over and over, forcing his fingers to repeat the motion until it hurt from how tightly he was holding her wrist.
"...That hurts Match." she said in a quiet voice. He ripped his fingers away as if her skin suddenly burned him, his eyes wide.
He was so… broken. His gaze wavered from screaming to crying, all pointing to the fact that Mark was not there. Nicole couldn't deny that it was the tracker in Match's arm that lead Cenver to them, but match wasn't to blame for that. He didn't know it was there.
That didn't stop him from beating himself up about it. And… Nicole knew that pain. The feeling of your heart tearing itself apart at the idea that those close to you are suffering because you weren't strong enough to protect them.
Match was a clone of Super Man, invincible and strong. Able to do anything. The idea of being utterly helpless and unable to save those in his life… well, Match was the more sensitive out of the both of them and that fact alone would kill Nicole so she could only imagine how he felt.
"We were there because your life was in danger Match. None of us knew of the tracker and Mark was just… standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn't his fault. Your fault. Or even... my fault." she lowered her gaze. "I know it is easy to just put the blame on yourself, and you should never really blame others, but this is a situation where there is only one person to blame." she reached out grab his chin, forcing him to look at her. "Cenver."
Match's lip quivered, "Ba..." he made a strange noise. "But… Ma-rk…"he struggled to sign it correctly. Then the tears began to fall and he fell into her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his face into her stomach, a sob erupting from his chest. He body shook violently with every breath he took and Nicole found that she could only manage to pat his head in comfort.
She closed her eyes, feeling that she had been in a similar position the day she lost Arinna, "...Let it out Match. Let it all out."
As time went on, Match's crying settled to a few small hiccups and sniffles, yet he did not move. Just rested against her, messing with the bracelet she had around her wrist. "You feeling better?" she asked.
He nodded. Glancing up at her, he signed, "Why were you messing with a flashlight? Can't you just use your powers to put energy into it?" It was true, she never needed batteries for anything.
"Yeah." she shrugged. "But it drains me to use them too much and I don't want to waste them on a flash light." she glanced at her watch. "We're going to be heading out here soon."
"To mark?" he asked hopefully. Nicole sighed.
"Well… maybe. We don't know where he is." she says. "For know we are just trying to get some distance between us and the Light. Find the nearest hotel or something to stay at." she ran her hand through his hair, marvelling at how soft it was.
"Where is the nearest hotel?"
"Its…" Nicole paused. Attempting to pull up her long range scanner, Nicole scowled to find it wouldn't appear. "What the-" she tapped her temple a few times. Nothing. Finding it strange, she blinked a few times, running a scan on herself to discover the problem.
Assuming it was because her emotions were going wild she didn't expect it to be because her Enhancer Charge chip was not there. She clicked her tongue in annoyance when she realized she had given that to Mark!
"Stupid. Stupid." she hit herself. Just great, exactly what she needed today. A missing Mark and a missing Enhancer Charge Chip. Fantastic. Fan-friggin'-tastic. Just when-
Hold the phone.
Wait a minute. Everyone stop where they are and don't move!
She gave the chip to Mark. It is assumed that Mark still has it in his possession. The chip would be where Mark is.
Similar to how Cenver placed tracking devices in the projects she had after Nicole's escape, Nicole had done the same to all her stuff when she continually misplaced things. Especially if they were important things that could save her life.
….There was a tracking device in that chip. A tracking device she could track no matter where it is in the world.
"GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY!" she leapt up, kicking her heels together. Match was thrown off her so fast he barely had time to question what she was screaming for before she burst out of the van. "GUYS! GET UP!" she hollered.
"W-What?" Stephan stammered, startled and almost dropping his drink. The group was gathered around a makeshift fire, staring at Nicole with wide eyes. "This is great!" Nicole spun around. "Oh Mark you wonderful little nuisance." She giggled in joy. Shade raised an eyebrow, sharing a look with his brother than looking back at their sister.
"You uh… you okay there Nicole?" he asked.
"I'm great!" she declared.
"You sure about that? Just a second ago you were deep in depression road."
"I was." she agreed, grabbing Shade's shoulders. "Listen, before we left Star Labs, I gave Mark my Enhancer Charge Chip to hold on to."
"YOU WHAT?!" Her brother roared. "How could you be so stupid!"
"I know right?" she grinned.
"This isn't' a good things NIcole!" he slapped her across the head.
"Yes it is!" she argued, stepping away. " .Track. It! Track the chip straight to Mark even."
Shade opened and closed his mouth, an odd expression of bewilderment covering his features. "...Track it." he said slowly.
"Yes. We can find him!" Nicole pumped her fist.
"Nicole that is great!" Stephan leapt up in joy. Feeling Match tug on her sleeve, she smirked at him.
"Find Mark?" he asked hopefully.
"Find Mark." she nodded.
Match looked so relieved, "We can save him?" Nicole nodded again. "Thank goodness. I wasn't… able to…. protect… Mom.. before… I want to protect him… now." Match slowly signed, eye narrowed with determination.
"Match." Nicole smiled. "Well, I will definitely need a helping hand-" she cut herself off. "Wait… did you just call Mark, Mom?" she held up a finger, her pursing her lips and batting her eyelashes.
Match nodded, eyes wide with a naive innocence.
"...You think Mark is your Mom?" She asked slowly.
Match nodded, looking confused, "Is he… not my Mom? I saw a video… about Mother's Day… and he acts like a Mom should. So that implies that he is… right?" he signed. Nicole gagged, turning away to cover her mouth and hide her snort. Struggling to contain her laughter, she stomped wildly on the ground.
"T-That's great!" she shrieked, "Oh my gosh… that is hilarious. I can't wait to tell Mark what you just said! Hahahahaha." she clutched her stomach.
"Why are you laughing at that?" Match inquired.
"There is just-" she snickered, "So much beauty in the world, ya know?"
Match blinked once, then smiled. Moving he ran to scoop Gio up and lift him into the air where the young boy squealed in delight.
"Rescue time!"
Everyone was ecstatic. Everyone expect for a moody older brother. "Then what?" Shade grumbled.
Nicole didn't notice the fowl expression he held, "Save him."
"I can't believe you." Shade pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What?" Nicole questioned. Her smile fell as she turned to her brother, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that this is reckless and a suicide mission, yes you haven't even considered that." he rose to his feet, "You do realize that Mark is with the Light, right? Meaning that he is with Cenver and probably a lot of powerful and twisted villains."
"That is why we have to get him out." Nicole frowned.
"It will just get us captured." Shade hissed.
"You don't know that." she says, anger growing quickly in her voice.
"Yes I do! Do you not remember what happened at Star Labs? You also said everything would be fine then too, and look what happened. Mark was taken." Shade countered.
"I know that!" she snapped, "That is why I have to fix this!"
"No you don't! You aren't responsible for him! He knew what he was getting into and was stupid enough to get himself caught."
Nicole slammed into him, "Don't call him stupid!"
"What is with you!?" Shade tugged on her arms, throwing her over his shoulder and on to the ground.
"G-Guys!" Stephan stammered in shock, "Don't fight!"
Rolling away when Shade attempted to slam his foot down on her, she leapt up to her feet, slamming her hands into his chest. He stumbled back, losing his footing just long enough for Nicole to wrap her arms around his torso and tackle him to the ground. "Stop acting so above this Vanni."
"It's Shade!" he roared.
"NO IT ISN"T! You are Giovanni Sterling, not some stupid project that Cenver made! That isn't you!" she slammed her fist into jaw.
Recoiling for a second, he used his knees to lift her back legs up, flipping her over and rolling on top of her. "Stop acting like you've got me all figured out." he hissed into her face. "Giovanni died with our parents in that fire. I'm not him. Not anymore."
"So taking the name Cenver gave you is better?!" The two wrestled for a few seconds before pulling away, gasping for breath.
"A year ago, the girl I knew wouldn't have bat an eye if someone was dying in front of her. She didn't talk to people and especially didn't travel with them. She went solo in everything, her only goal to find our friends…" Shade huffed, pausing to catch his breath. "She would prefer to not let the world into her life."
"Well maybe I don't want to be that kind of girl anymore." she put her hands on her knees, hunching over. "I'm…" her knees buckled and she hit the ground, using her arms as leverage to keep her upright. "I'm tired Vanni. I'm so tired of running and hiding and just… pretending like the world doesn't involve me. Because as much as I hate it, as much as I wish I could change the people that lived in it, I can't. But that doesn't mean I can just turn my back on it either."
Shade slowly moved to drop on his knees, sweat dripping from his brow. The others stood at a distance from the two, waiting with baited breaths as they fought it out. When the two fell to their knees, they slowly began to creep forward.
"I hate this world. I hate everything about it. People are selfish and ignorant… cruel. They only care about themselves and their own interests." Nicole spat.
"Then why?" Shade demanded. "Why risk everything for one guy?"
"Because he-!" Nicole sighed, lowering her arms. "He's… He's everything I'm not.' Shade blinked once, eyes widening. "He's kind. He snores. Has this weird obsession over shiney things and he hates Puns, which just makes the puns funnier. He is naive and stupid and loyal to a fault." she sighed affectionately. "He is a much better person than I am Vanni, and it is my fault that he is with Cenver. I could have told him no and left him in Gotham but I didn't. I was selfish and let him get dragged into this so I'm gonna be the one to drag him out." She paused, her gaze torn. "He…" every fiber in her being looked frightened to admit what she was about to say, but she did it anyway, because she had to if she wanted her point to get across, "He's family."
"Nicole…" Gio murmured. She shrugged, sniffing and dabbing at her eyes.
"I won't leave him behind. I'll never leave anyone behind again." she declared.
Shade stared at his sister for a long time, slowly lowering his gaze. Looking as if in deep contemplation, he slouched a bit, shaking his head, "What I let you drag me into." he ran a hand over his face. "Fine, I'm in."
"Really?" she gawked. "You sure?"
"Not really." he admitted, "But following that signal will lead us to Cenver, right?" he asked. When his sister nodded, he pulled out his gun, "Good. It is about time I finish this once and for all."
"...And Gio?" she shifted her gaze to their baby brother.
"You aren't leaving me behind." Gio yelled, slamming his head into Shade's knees. "Imma ready to break in and break stuff!" he cheered. "Thug life!"
The two paled.
"Okayyy." Nicole slurred. Smiling thankfully at her brother the two helped each other up.
"Alright Nicole. Where are we headed?" Shade folded his arms. Closing her eyes to concentrate, Nicole focused on the chip. Mentally picturing a holo map in her head, she perked up as a dot appeared on the screen. Zooming in on it, her jaw dropped.
"Oh come on." she groaned.
"What?" Shade frowned.
"He's in England." she slapped her forehead.
"What?" Stephan gasped. "B-But that is half way across the world! How are we possibly going to get there?"
"We'll need transportation." Shade agreed. "We have a car, but that won't help much when we get to the coast."
"And I struggle to get on planes." Nicole tapped her temple. "Kind of hard to go through a metal detector when a whole part of your brain is laced in it."
"Couldn't you just say you had a metal plate in your head?" Stephan inquired.
"Yeah, but then they would ask for me to take off my sunglasses and what would they see?" she blinked innocently at him.
"Ooh." he nodded in understandment. Turning to think it over, the group contemplated many ways to travel across the Atlantic ocean. Plane and Boat seemed to be their only two options. Boat may take days, and plane would be hard to actually get on to.
Then, an idea struck their fluffy haired friend, "Wait." Stephan held up a finger, "I think I know what we can do."
"We're all ears." Shade sighed.
"But I only have two ears." Match frowned at him. Shade didn't seem to even notice the hand signs, but Nicole patted his back.
"Figure of speech." she explained.
"Well, it hasn't been fully tested yet, but I've been working on it ever since Nicole gave me the blueprints." he reached into his bag and pulled out a small circular device. Nicole recognized it instantly.
"The teleporter?" she gawked, "You mean to tell me you finished it?"
"In theory." he grimaced, "I haven't even considered testing it on anything organic."
"But we could get to Mark if we could use it, right?' gio pulled on his pant leg. Stephan nodded down at him.
"Yes, but it is still a dangerous way to go about it."
"It is still a way." Nicole held out her hand. Stephan tossed her the device, allowing her to examine it thoroughly. He had done a marvelous job on the piece, far better than Nicole had expected. Her Mother would be proud to see this. "This could work." she offered.
"As long as we get it fully working." Shade rubbed his chin. "That seems to be our best option for now. Would allow us quick access to the facility as well as a quick escape. Let's get it working."
"Great!" Stephan gushed.
Nicole smirked at her companions… her allies, tossing the sphere in her hands.
Hold on Mark. We'll be there soon.
YAY! NEW CHAPTERS! WHOOP WHOPP!
I loved writing this chapter so much :D And I finally got to really get into detail with Vincent/Project V's personality and reasoning for being where he is now.
And I finally get to introduce Phillis Kentin too, which is awesome :D Man I've wanted to introduce her for so long. It is going to be awesome guys.