Chapter 43: Machinery
Wally's 'dumb' idea was to find someone who would want to keep an eye on Morrow. Someone other than the Justice League. Someone that is just as intelligent as the good doctor in his field of robotics. Let's just hope the warden lets us talk to him.
The door opens. All nine of us enter back into Belle Reve Penitentiary. About a month ago, M'gann, Conner and I went undercover here as prisoners. We were able to stop a massive prison break lead by Icicle Sr. This is also the place where M'gann and Conner had their first kiss. So romantic. Though I should talk.
As soon as we're inside the building, we're greeted by Dr. Hugo Strange. Strange was the prison's psychiatrist until Amanda Waller, the prison warden, was fired due to her negligence during the attempted breakout. Strange was assigned as Belle Reve's new warden. I never had a session with the man himself when I was undercover. Though I'm glad I didn't. I feel like Strange could try to pick my psyche a bit.
"White Canary, Miss Martian, Superboy, so glad you could make it", Strange says to us. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you and your compatriots."
"Thank you, Dr. Strange", M'gann says as we walk through the prison. "And again, sorry about the short notice too. Is Professor Ivo ready for us?"
"He is. We have him in one of our interrogation rooms. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be able to do this. But since you prevented quite possibly the biggest jailbreak in history, this is an exception I'm happy to make."
"We appreciate this very much, Dr. Strange", M'gann thanks our host.
Zatanna comes up to me and Kyle. "You guys stopped a prison break?"
"Yep", I say to her. "I tell you the story once we're back at the Cave." A grin grows on Zatanna's face.
"You said this pertains to a case for the Justice League?" Strange asks us.
"Yes", Aqualad says now. "They are aware of our presence here. We will report back to them as soon as we're done."
"Very good. Also", Strange now looks to me, "shall I give Mr. Turner a message from you?"
The others look to me, a bit confused. Kyle too. Only Conner and M'gann don't share their expressions. I hadn't told the others about Ben from when I was last here. It's not like I meant to hide it, I just never thought about bringing it up. Conner and M'gann only know because they met him when he helped us.
"Just tell him we're working the problem hard as ever", I say to the warden.
"Very well."
"Hey", Kyle grabbing my attention so easily. "What was that about?"
"I'll tell you and the Team back on the ship. Okay?" Kyle gives me a nod and a smile, taking my word for as it is.
Finished with pleasantries and conversation, we reach the interrogation room. "Here we are. You'll have five minutes with him. I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Thank you, doctor", I say to our host. Strange walks in the other direction from us, leaving us alone in a prison.
Entering the room, we find Professor Anthony Ivo. Sitting alone at a table. Sporting the Belle Reve orange jumpsuit and shock collar. Other than that, he looks the same as he did when I found him in Gotham.
Just prior to joining the Team, I tailed them to Gotham chasing after a rogue android of Ivo's was reassembled and laying waste to them and everything in its path. The Team was able to destroy the android. Ivo, however, was getting away. Thankfully, he didn't see me coming. Before Ivo knew what hit him, he was tied up like a present left at the League's doorstep.
Looking through the crowd of 'delinquents' as he called us, Ivo immediately recognizes me. His eyes widen with a tinge of fear.
"Professor Ivo, we meet again", I say to my first catch of the day.
"It seems you got what you wanted. A seat with the Junior Justice League", Ivo says to all of us.
"Junior or not, we destroyed your little 'toy' and caught you dead in your tracks", I say back to him.
"The A.M.A.Z.O. is not a toy! It's—" He stops himself, now questioning the situation entirely. "Wait. All of you here at once… You must want something from me. The question is what?"
"Dr. T. O. Morrow", Miss Martian says, stepping forward to the table.
"Ah, yes. What interest do you have in Morrow?"
"You know that Morrow created Red Tornado. Along with two more Red androids. We believe that they're in Morrow's possession and we're looking for them", Kyle states to the prisoner.
"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break. He's given us five minutes with you", Miss Martian says.
"Spill, Ivo. How do we find T. O. Morrow and his Reds?" Superboy angrily asks.
"Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo questions.
"Because, and here's a truly dumb idea, you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game. Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?" Kid Flash answers. Truly dumb, but genius.
"Ah, I see your point. So let me rephrase. Why in the world would I tell you how to find Morrow?" A grinning smirk appears on Ivo's face. He knows where Morrow is.
"He knows", Aqualad says, coming up to Miss Martian's right. "Do what you must."
Miss Martian nods in response to our leader's request. She looks to Ivo, her eyes glowing a Martian green. But Ivo only chuckles back at us.
"Oh, please. As if I've never faced a telepath before", Ivo responds to our method.
"Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!" Zatanna speaks these words – more like incantation – to Ivo. Who, by the way, is standing next to Ivo on his right. When did she—
"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park one hundred meters south of Old Faithful", Ivo blurts out.
The rest of us, myself included, look to Zatanna shocked. Our jaws literally dropping. She, by the way, stands upright and hands placed on her hips. Clearly very proud of herself. Okay, this girl definitely has skills.
"Wait. What just happened?" Ivo asks us. Having no clue as to why, or how, he gave us the intel we needed.
Shaking off my stunned expression, I look to Ivo one last time. "Thank you for your time, Professor. Enjoy the rest of your stay at Belle Reve."
The nine of us exit the room. Ivo, still in shock, starts to angrily question what just happened to him continuously.
The eight of us look to Zatanna as we make our exit back to the Bioship.
"How did… What did…"
"What he said", Kyle says following Wally's dumbfounded questioning.
"Seriously, how did you pull that off?" I ask our new friend.
"With just a touch of magic, I can be very persuasive", Zatanna answers with a grin. I so want her to join us now.
Back on the Bioship, M'gann flies us straight for Yellowstone National Park. The rate we're flying, it shouldn't take us too long to get there.
I still can't believe how easy Zatanna got Morrow's location out of Ivo the way she did. I knew she was a skilled magician. I just didn't think she'd be that good that quick. I still don't get magic one bit. But it would definitely help if she did join the Team. Having a magician in our corner would be awesome.
Once we back to the ship, Sara told me, Artemis, Robin, Kid, Aqualad and Zatanna about her friend, Ben Turner. She told us he helped her along the way before Dinah found her. Protected and trained her even. She was so surprised to find him in Belle Reve. Ben told Sara that he'd been framed and been put in jail wrongfully. Ever since she found him, Sara and Dinah have been working to exonerate him of his crimes.
When she spoke of this Turner guy, I could hear the compassion and care she has for him. As if he was the brother she never had. I told her that I believed in him and that I'd be willing to help her with this in any way. The rest of the Team said they'd help too.
She tried to not cry since we're technically on mission, but Sara did tear up a bit after that. Gave me a big hug and whispered to me, "Thank you for believing."
And I whispered back to her, "Always and forever."
"Black out all external communications. Soon, Canary and Zatara, Batman too, I imagine, will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."
"Look, I'm trying to be all nonchalant here", Robin says to Zatanna.
"Why? Be as chalant as you like." She speaks Robin. I've seen everything now.
"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers", Artemis says to her. "Could you teleport us to Tornado, or Morrow to a cell, or force his bots to surrender?"
"Or create peace on Earth for all time?" Zatanna explains. "Zatara couldn't even do all that and I'm nowhere near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."
"And we would never ask you to do the impossible", I say to her. "Trust me, if I were able to use my constructs to permanently fix mechanical issues with planes and inventions, I would. We all have our limits. But we have others to lean on."
"What's our ETA on Yellowstone?" Superboy angrily asks. "I'm way past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."
"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Aqualad asks Superboy.
"Aren't you?" Superboy asks back.
"I am not convinced", Aqualad answers. "And even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly, he deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be."
Aqualad's concerning statement basically shuts down Superboy and his anger. But he does have a point. If Red Tornado was forced into betraying us and the League, then he is a victim. Just like Superboy would've been if Cadmus had brainwashed him into being Superman's possible replacement. Goes to show you we're all not that different from one another. Kryptonians and androids alike.
Yellowstone National Park
October 10, 20:22 MDT
Reaching our destination, the Bioship lands in Yellowstone. Not far from Old Faithful, as Ivo told us. The nine of us stand from our seats and get ready for action.
"Stealth mode", Aqualad says. The rest of us follow Aqualad's lead in activating our suit's stealth modes. Not wanting to stick out in the night in my all-white leather, I asked Robin for my own stealth mode. Pushing the Canary symbol on my belt, my entire suit (jacket and gloves included) turns a shade darker. He called it a silver charm shade of white. As long as it helps me hide more efficiently, I don't care what he calls it.
A door morphs open from the ship. Zatanna walks to it, probably wanting to tag along with us. So long as she doesn't get in anyone's way and can keep up with us, I've got no complaints. Plus, it'll help us keep an eye on her too.
Aqualad walks towards Zatanna. "I recommend you stay behind."
"Is that an order?" She asks.
"No. You must do as you see fit."
"Good. Emit ot yrt eht wen kool!" With her incantation, a swirl of smoke surrounds Zatanna. In mere seconds, the smoke disappears and Zatanna has changed into her, shall we say, 'suit'. Sporting a black woman's jacket and skirt; white gloves and button-up shirt with a bow along the collar; a yellow vest; gray leggings and black shoes. She looks like she's a magician's assistant more than a superhero. Still, who am I to judge by someone's appearances. I just wish I could change that fast.
With everyone suited up, we all traverse through the forest. In only a few minutes, we stop across a dirt plain with mountains laying in the background.
Robin pulls out a holo-map of the area. "Ivo was right. Something's down there."
We continue across the gravel ground when suddenly, a gust of wind blows against our faces. The current pushes us back a meter or two. Wind…
Looking up, we find one of the metallic faces we're looking for. Arms crossed and a red cyclone where his legs should be, Red Tornado looks down to us with the cold, expressionless face he was 'born' with.
Author's Note: Hello everyone out there! I hope the first few months of this new year have been easier for everyone and your loved ones. I'm glad that every reader and follower, old and new, have continued to read Beginnings. Whether it's for old fashion literary fun or as an escape from the real world and its troubles now.
If it feels like I have forgotten this story and all of you, I apologize. Just know that I will not stop creating this story and allowing all of you to read and enjoy it to your hearts content. Humanity is one of my favorite episodes of Young Justice for so many reasons: the introduction of Zatanna, Red Tornado and Volcano's epic battle, and more of our favorite heroes in action. So being able to put my own spin on it with two of my favorite DC characters makes it that much more awesome!
Again, I hope you all are enjoying the journey of Kyle and Sara and their developments and relationship. As always, if you have any suggestions, comments, story ideas or critiques, PM me or leave a review. I will do my best to respond to you ASAP. Thank you all again and keep up the fight with the Light!