Chapter 17
A/N: hey everyone! Welcome back! Glad to see y'all're still here! So, just so y'all know, I have made the concept art for Michael. It's on my DeviantArt page under my same username, so feel free to check it out. And thanks for the reviews! Anyways, as y'all know, I don't own FNAF or YJ, I'm just here for fun.
/comms/
Telepathy/Flashbacks/Whatever else
Gotham, October 1, 5:45EDT
Michael's scars were aching. It wasn't uncommon or anything, but it was the first time it had happened without a nightmare beforehand. Still, it made going back to sleep before his alarm went off a pain in the butt.
Sighing, Mike rolled over onto his stomach, grimacing as he almost blinded himself trying to turn on his lamp. Considering he only had like fifteen minutes before his alarm went off, there wasn't really any point in trying to go back to sleep. Last time he tried that he slept through his alarm and Efrem had to wake him up.
That was an experience he did not wish to ever repeat.
Still, at least he could make more progress on getting through the journal. Reaching into his pillowcase, he felt around for the notebook, frowning as he was coming up empty handed. He checked his other pillows. They were also empty. Sighing, he propped himself up on his elbows, glaring across the room towards his backpack. He left it in there didn't he?
He really didn't want to get out of bed.
But…maybe he didn't have to.
Pulling himself out from under the sheets, he crawled to the edge of his bed, leaning off to reach towards his bag. The damn thing was still out of reach. Putting his free hand on the ground, he pulled himself out further, grabbing his bag and dragging it closer to pull out the journal.
It was only once he got it out that he realized he didn't think this plan through.
Currently, Mike was hanging half-off the bed, one holding a serial killer's journal and the other being the only thing keeping him from falling to his floor. Hoping for the best, he tossed the journal back towards his bed. It hit the side of the bed as he simultaneously lost his fight with gravity and faceplanted with an audible thud.
"Mike?" Henry's muffled voice called. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
The sound of footsteps approaching reverberated through the floor. "What happened?"
"I dropped my shirt."
"…That was awfully loud for a shirt."
"I was in it."
There was silence from the other side of the door. After a moment, the knob wiggled and the door opened, revealing the concerned looking faces of both his guardian and the butler. They were quiet as they took in the probably absurd sight before them: his dumbass self, sprawled on the ground, legs sticking in the air from where the bed propped him up.
He could already hear their repressed chuckles. "Having problems getting up kiddo?"
"You could say that."
"Need help getting up?"
"No."
"Alright, breakfast will be ready in twenty."
Mike raised a hand, giving the men a thumbs up. He could still hear them chuckling between themselves as the door closed. Honestly, the only way this could've been more embarrassing was if he'd been sleeping in just his boxers.
"I'm glad my misery brings you humor!" he called after them.
He swore they started laughing harder.
It was going to be one of those days, wasn't it?
-.-
Mt. Justice, 18:24EDT
Kaldur stepped aside as Robin tossed a punch his way, causing his younger teammate to grit his teeth as he continued to evade his attacks. Spinning out of the way of a kick, Aqualad whirled on his heel and tossed his own punch as the boy sprung back, putting some distance between them. The older boy chased after, barely ducking a well-timed punch from the Boy Wonder as he struck. Leaping up, Robin swung around to kick him and Kaldur leapt back, dodging the strike.
"You almost had him that time," Mike called from where he leaned against the wall.
"Like you could do better!" Robin challenged flipping behind Aqualad and kicking him in the ribs.
Mike didn't even bother looking up from the journal, flipping to the next entry. "I could, but it wouldn't be as fun as watching you two play chicken."
"You're not even watching!"
"I wasn't aware I was refereeing this match," he absentmindedly replied, adjusting his grip on the bound pages.
Huh…this entry was different than the others. All the ones he'd read so far had been about the modifications made to the murder bots, experiments on the soul juice obtained from random victims, or the experiments with said soul juice his father had been conducting on both himself and his eldest. They'd been methodical, easily read. But this one…the writing in this entry was almost illegible, like it had been hastily written. One would almost call it frantic.
I had to do it. She left me no choice. She was going to leave me! That WHORE thought she was going to take my children. She was going to ruin EVERYTHING!
I shouldn't have been so careless. I should have waited longer to treat Michael. But I couldn't wait. We have been making so much progress with the remnant. He's becoming exactly what I had imagined he could be. I couldn't let her take him my children away from me. They are mine. They belong to me! There is no one better to raise them than me, their FATHER.
That bitch thought she could take them away from me. She thought she raise them better than I could. I couldn't let that happen. I know my lawyers would've destroyed her. The slut knew too much. She wouldn't have stopped until she stole MY children. Till she turned them against me! No. I wasn't going to let that happen. I did what I had to do.
Besides, I needed to collect more remnant for Michael anyways. He's starting to need more than I currently have. My previous experiments prove that adults don't produce as much as children, but it will have to do for now. And with the GCPD being more vigilant than normal I have to lay low. At least until the next villain distracts them for me. This and what I got from the last extraction should let me hold out until then. Normally I'd just go to another city, but it'd be suspicious if I took off so soon after the bitch's murder.
I'll have to dispose of the body before my children wake. Telling them she's left would be most effective, as it would give me time with the body. But people will be looking for her. No, it'll have to be suicide I'll have to leave the body in Crime Alley. She was known for doing charity work in the area. It would be best to throw the blame onto some random gang violence. It worked for the Wayne murders after all. I'll have to make the extraction quick so I can set up the scene. The sedatives I gave the kids should keep them asleep till noon, so I'll have plenty of time to clean up.
Oh, my dear Clarissa, everything I have done has been for this family, my family. You left me no choice. I did what I had to do. Perhaps one day you'll see it that way my beautiful ballerina. Your body may be gone, but trust me, I promise, you aren't going to leave this family. You won't die. I'll fix you, my love. Just like I fixed our son. Just like I'll fix our other children. One way or another, our family will be perfect.
"Dude, you ok?"
Mike jumped at the voice, slamming the journal shut. Turning to the source, his brows shot up as he found Captain Marvel standing beside him, munching on a protein bar. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure? You got quiet there for a minute. And I think you look a bit pale."
"Yeah, I'm sure. Just dealing with some…stuff."
"What kinda stuff?"
"Personal stuff."
The Leaguer took another bite of his snack with a shrug. "Alright then. But remember, I'm always happy to hang out if you need something."
"…Thanks?"
Tossing a smile to the hero, he put the journal into his bag beside his sketchbook. Yeah, that probably wouldn't be happening anytime soon. Sure, Captain Marvel was cool—dude was far more chill than some of the other members of the League—but the guy had absolutely no filter. So yeah, no way was he going to be talking about his mother's murder.
A murder that had happened at the hands of her own husband, his father; not at the hands of a random mugger or a gang like he'd always believed. Yet another lie William Afton had perpetuated. His father had murdered his mother because she was going to divorce him. His mother had discovered what William had been doing. She had tried to take them away from him. She had died trying to save her children.
Mike had always respected his mother. He knew most of his ideology about her now was because she'd died when he was young. Granted, she had been the one person during his childhood to actually care about him. But now his respect for her had doubled. He probably wouldn't have been brave enough to stand up against the man. Not before now at least.
Shaking his head, Mike did his best to discard the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to dwell on them. Slowly migrating over to the others, he joined Robin and Kaldur as they talked, "Do we tell them?"
"It is not our place."
He had no clue what they were talking about. So he could either stand there awkwardly or just ask what was going on. He chose the latter. "Tell them what?" Mike inquired.
"About…you know," Robin motioned with his head towards Conner and M'gann.
Mike's brows shot up, and he gave a surprised chuckle, "Well damn. It's about time they got together."
"So," Wally started as he and Artemis joined them, "if Zatara's our babysitter for the week, why is he still here?" The speedster gave a pointed look to a certain red and gold clad hero. "And why is he eating my snacks?!"
Mike crossed his arms with a shrug, "Maybe you need to hide them better?"
KF gave him a look that was a mix between betrayed and annoyed. However, whatever he was about to say was cut off by the familiar whir of the Zeta Tube. "Recognized: Batman—02."
"Computer, national news."
In the middle of the training room, a holographic screen popped to life, showing video feed of giant plants attacking a city. "The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve." One of the vines coiled tightly around a building, sending glass, dust, and concrete flying as it squeezed. Two people could be seen on the rooftop of the crumbling building. Fortunately, though, both were soon scooped away by a red and blue blur. "And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."
Robin asked the question that was on all of their minds, "Should we get out there?"
"No," Batman answered, pausing the video. "The League will soon have the situation under control."
Mike set his bag down, crossing his arms. "Then why are you here?"
"According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus's Blockbuster formula to Kobra—"
"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to make Kobra-Venom," Wally interrupted.
"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Robin continued.
"And upgrade Wolf."
"The Brain also used inhibitor collars," M'gann chimed in, "like the ones used in Belle Reve Penitentiary."
"Batman," Artemis spoke up, putting her hands on her hips, "is it possible that these plant-things are on Kobra-Venom too?"
"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis. The vine's cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra-Venom variant."
"These cannot be coincidences," Kaldur sighed. "Unrelated criminals cooperating with one another worldwide."
"Exactly. It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of supervillains."
"I mean, it was only a matter of time," Mike said. All eyes turned towards him. "Ever hear the motto: the enemy of my enemy is my friend? Same logic applies. Work together to deal with your common enemy now, kill each other later. And besides, they've seen how successful teamwork is for the heroes. Stands to reason the same results could apply to them."
"Indeed," the Dark Knight concurred. "And the attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."
"You got that right," Robin said, typing quickly. In rapid succession, several more news feeds appeared before them. "Plant-creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei—" Robin was cut off as the screens turned to static.
"Dude."
"It's not me," Robin griped. "Someone's cutting the signal, all satellite signals."
"Any idea who?"
Their answer came as a frighteningly familiar face appeared on screen. A pale white finger tapped on the glass, as if trying to get their attention. Not that it was needed. Few were stupid enough to ignore the Joker when the madman was on the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mindless mayhem to bring you this important announcement," the Clown Prince of Crime grinned, grabbing the camera and jerking it sharply towards a group of figures, "from the Injustice League."
"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities," a green-clad Dracula sneered, somehow managing to look down his nose at the camera. "If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten-billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But, the longer your governments wait…"
The camera jerked again, spinning back to the Joker's wide smile. "The more fun we get to have," the clown cackled. "Remember kiddies, take your time. There's no rush, no need to fret. So turn that frown upside down! Afterall, you're never fully dressed without a smile!"
The feed cut out to the madman's laughter, and Batman turned tapping his commlink, "Rodger that Aquaman, the UN will prepare the ransom as a back-up plan, but it will not come to that."
Robin typed on his pad, rewinding the feed to highlight the members of this Injustice League. "Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan—Seven heavy hitters. Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we've faced so far."
"There's your secret society."
"Not so secret anymore."
"Perhaps after India they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer."
"Yeah," Wally scoffed. "Well, that was their mistake. Right now, I say we go kick some plant-creature butt!"
"Plants don't have butts."
"You know what I mean!"
Mike frowned, crossing his arms as he looked at the screen. Something about this…it didn't seem right. Sure, it seemed probable that after everything, it wouldn't be hard to conclude that they'd been figured out. But still, Mike had lived in Gotham his whole life, it wasn't a secret that Joker didn't play well with others. Why would that change now?
"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman said, interrupting the team's planning session. "I have a different assignment for this team."
"Oh man!"
"Damnit, hopefully it's not another distraction mission," Mike grumbled.
"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."
"Holy shit."
"No way."
Beside the Dark Knight, Zatara gulped. "You do realize what you're really asking them to do?"
"They're ready."
"Holy fucking shit!"
"Ready? Ready for what? What's happening?" Wally questioned.
Artemis punched the speedster's arm. "Hello, Wally! If the League is out fighting the plant-monsters, who do you think we'll be fighting?"
"I don't know! I guess we'll…" he trailed off looking back to the screens. "Ohhh…oh shit."
"Well Batman, I trust you're correct," Zatara conceded.
"And I trust you can locate the enemy?"
"Indeed," Zatara nodded. "Wotan's involved, meaning sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide a holomap."
The Boy Wonder nodded, typing on his glove and pulling a holograph of the globe.
"I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerer activity. Zatara gave the boy a nod as he stepped forwards raising his hands, "Etacol eht ecruos fo eht cigam ecnabrutsid!" On the globe, a small red dot appeared. "There, that is where you will find the Injustice League's headquarters and their central control system."
"Coordinates locked in: the Louisiana Bayou."
"We are on our way."
-.-
Gotham City, 19:49EDT
Massive vines slammed down on the overpass, causing cracks to spread along the surface as people scrambled to escape the plants. Their screams were drowned out by the crushing of metal and the shattering of glass. Before long, those noises were too covered by a louder sound. A black jet dove between the buildings, firing missiles at the plant. Explosions rocked the monster, causing one of the vines to fall off, landing on the highway. On the bottom of the jet, a hatch opened as it soared closer, dropping a dark green gas which dissolved the plant on contact.
Seizing the opportunity, Captain Marvel landed at the massive plant's base. The overpass trembled as he jammed his hands underneath the main structure, trying to pull it out as its roots fought to keep the monstrous thing trapped within the ground. Parts of the roadway collapsed, freeing the flailing roots and allowing the hero to lift the mutant plant from the ground and fly it into the atmosphere so he could dispose of it in space.
On the ground, Zatara formed a bubble around himself as the Batplane zipped by, dropping more of the gaseous weed-killers the Dark Knight had hastily developed. Levitating off the ground, he watched as more vines clawed their way from the earth, seeking to destroy anything and everything in their path. "Tes erif ot eht seniv!"
At his words, flames erupted along the surface of the vines, causing them to writhe and screech as the fire ate through them. On their surface, small blooms opened, revealing what appeared to be seeds. However, the hero didn't have much time to figure out before they explodes, releasing a green gas into the air, engulfing the nearby firefighters. What happened next, chilled Zatara to the core.
Through the thick green haze, he could hear the uncontrollable laughter of the men, watching as they stumbled out of the fog, covering their mouths in an attempt to block the gas. Not that it was effective. He could still hear their laughter and see their shoulders shake from the uncontrolled seizing of their muscles before each of them collapsed due to the effects of the Joker Venom.
-.-
Bayou Bartholomew, 18:52CDT
Laughter filled the chamber as the owner watched the firefighters go down. "Kobra-Venom's got nothing on good ol' Joker Venom!" the Clown Prince of Crime grinned wiggling his fingers as he controlled the plant puppets wreaking havoc on the various cities.
"Both work well in consort," a familiar accented voice purred, causing Joker to glance over his shoulder as he saw Count Vertigo.
An interesting name in Joker's opinion. "Tell me Count Vertigo, does your powers, plus your title make you the Duke of Puke? Or would it be the Count of Klutzes?" He grinned upon getting no immediate reaction. "Does the idea make you nauseous?"
"Enough Joker!" Poison Ivy snapped as she knelt down by the roots of the central node. Her palm spread across the root, allowing a green glow to return to the graying extremity. "We do not have time for your games as my babies fight to keep this plan going!"
At her words, Ultra Humanite ran up, tapping something on their pad causing the technological parts incorporated into the plant to glow. "We will keep her healthy Ivy," Wotan reassured. "But she requires more power. Skull!"
The grey, zombie-like being looked up at him. Giving a quick nod, his head began to glow and he fired it into the conductor. The gray color of the trunk began to fade rapidly as a lively green consumed it. New leaves even emerging from the influx of energy.
Watching it all, Count Vertigo took a breath. Now that Joker was done fooling around, it was nice to see they were all getting back on track spectacularly. "Remarkable what a little teamwork can accomplish." His moment of peace was then broken by the shrill shrieking of the alarm. "Intruder alert! Find them! And end them!"
-.-
The Bioship was silent as they entered the borders of the bayou they'd tracked the Injustice League to. Every now and then the silence was broken by someone shifting either out of nerves or to triple-check their gear. All eyes were watching their surroundings. An operation this big was going to have security. At this point, an attack was only a matter of time.
Turning his attention away from the window, Mike once again checked his gear making sure everything was ready. He'd restocked on explosives and smoke bombs, the grapple had recently been checked, so he was good on his standard equipment. Save for the fact he lost his last knife in the shoulder of an irate gorilla back in India so he'd had to improvise with a kitchen knife till his new ones were made.
But, he was more concerned with his more…experimental gear. Most of them were still in the early testing phases if they'd even entered at all. But, considering the situation…well, it was going to be a field test. And if they failed, well, then he had some extra explosives along with some notes of what not to do again.
"So, uh, what's in the duffel," Kid Flash spoke, breaking the tense silence that had enveloped them.
The rest of them turned to look at their leader, wondering what the speedster was inquiring about. It didn't take them long to spot the dark duffel bag at Aqualad's feet. "Plan B."
He didn't elaborate further, but the Atlantean's tone suggested that it was not a plan they would want to enact.
"…Let's hope we don't need it."
M'gann groaned, leaning forwards in her chair as she removed a hand from the controls to rub her temple. "You ok?" Superboy asked.
"Dizzy."
"Martian's get airsick?" Robin questioned.
"She does look a bit greener than usual," Kid Flash frowned.
"Not me, her."
"I feel fine," Artemis said, raising her hand placatingly as all eyes turned to her.
"Not her, her," M'gann corrected, "the Bioship. It's like she's trying to shield us from something."
Around the cockpit, shoulders tensed. "From what?"
The answer came as electricity arched over the ship as lightning hit it. The ship swerved trying to stay in the air only to be slammed into the murky waters by a second bolt. Those inside the ship grunted as they were jerked around as the ship skipped along the water, before coming to a stop, allowing most of them to feel the ache in their bodies from the lightning that the Bioship had mostly taken upon herself.
"I think that was our welcoming committee," Mike grunted.
"At least they were kind enough to greet us."
"Yeah. I feel so welcomed."
The area around them shook again, and they all watched to see the same massive vines their mentors were fighting in Metropolis curling around the Bioship, pulling them under the water.
The top of the ship shook as something landed on it. M'gann cried out, holding her head as she felt her ship's agony as something tore through the hull. A hand soon appeared through the roof, slowly prying a hole in the Bioship, making their teammate cry out in pain. "He's hurting her!"
The culprit revealed himself by tearing a hole in the roof. However, his attack was quickly stopped as Superboy lunged from his seat, decking Black Adam in the face.
Granted, they didn't get a reprieve either as water immediately began surging through the opening. Slowly starting to flood the cockpit. "No. No way I'm nearly drowning three missions in a row!" Artemis growled pulling out two rebreathers passing the other to Wally as Robin and Mike pulled out their own.
"M'gann! We need to get out! Open a hatch!"
"Hello Megan," Miss Martian said smacking her forehead as gills appeared along her neck. Diving down underwater they watched as she opened a port at the bottom.
"Out! Everyone out!" Aqualad ordered.
Not that they needed to be told twice.
Swimming through the murky waters, the followed Kaldur towards shore. Upon reaching the edge, they darted into the brush, looking back to watch more vines crawl up the Bioship, pulling it under the surface. "She's in shock," M'gann whispered painfully, "she'll need time to recover."
Before any of them could respond to reassure her, all of them cried out as a sharp pain split through their skulls, causing them to collapse to the ground, clutching their heads. Gritting his teeth, KF managed to push himself to his elbows, glaring up at the figure stepping out of the undergrowth. "Vertigo."
"That's Count Vertigo to you, peasant."
"Pfft, peasant?" Mike scoffed, rolling onto his stomach to glare at the Duke of Puke. He knew his type. Bastard probably would've been besties with his dear old dad. People like them were very protective of their fragile egos. Guys like them never would let someone tarnish their image. Not without consequences. That was how it had always been back when he lived with William.
Which meant, he knew exactly how to get under the Barf Baron's skin. If he pissed him off enough, the guy was going to slip up.
And, if there was one thing Mike was good at, it was pissing people off.
"Look, I understand your inbred brain can't keep up with the times, but seriously?" he sneered, "That's your worst insult? Man, no wonder no one wants you in line for a throne. I mean, look at you, you're so pathetic you need other people to do your dirty work for you. A real man would handle his own fights. Or are you too much of a bitch?"
"What did you say peasant?!"
"Rem, what are you doing?"
"Shut up, I have a plan."
The villain stomped towards him, a scowl smeared across his face. He looked pissed. Good.
Taking a breath, Mike pushed himself up more. He'd been in worse pain than this. But Viceroy Vomit didn't know that. Right now, Mike was using his best acting skills to make it seem like he was truly struggling to push himself up. "You heard me, bitch. Or do I need to figure how to speak stupid so your pea-brain can possibly comprehend—I'm sorry, I meant understand what I'm saying? Or…is even that too much for you? You don't strike me as the sharpest tool in the shed."
Count Vertigo loomed over him, face burning bright tomato red. A few veins visibly popping out from his forehead and neck. "You dare speak to me that way you peasant mongrel bastard—" the Count's train of insults was abruptly cut off as Mike leapt up, headbutting him with an audible crack. The man stumbled back, gripping his nose as blood spurted from between his fingers, all concentration on attacking them lost.
Superboy was the first to shoot to his feet, moving to lunge at Vertigo. Black Adam blocked his path, throwing a powerful punch that slammed the clone into a tree. Using the distraction to his advantage, Aqualad stood up, sending a torrent of water to blast the two villains back.
"Robin, Miss Martian, disappear. We will keep them busy. You two fulfill the mission objective."
Without a word, their teammates vanished into the brush just as Adam reoriented himself. With a snarl, the man leapt at Aqualad, punching the Atlantean in the face. Wolf leapt on his back, digging his teeth into Black Adam's shoulder. Or at least trying to before the poor canine was hurled off.
Ok, so clearly between their two opponents, tall, dark, and angry was the problem. Ducking behind a tree, Mike pulled out one of his experimental weapons, "Artemis, KF, you two think you can handle Prince Puke?"
Wally gave a large smirk, pulling down his goggles, "I don't think Baron Barf will be much of a problem."
Mike rolled his eyes, ignoring whatever wry remark Artemis made to the speedster as the pair rushed off to handle Vertigo before he recollected himself. Honestly, he was just hoping these things worked like they were supposed to.
-.-
Judging from his headache, things did not work the way they were supposed to. Grimacing, Mike pushed himself up, finding himself trapped with the others in a glowing orange-gold cage.
"They awaken. You're certain this cage will hold them?" Prince Puke's annoying voice sneered.
"The cage is impenetrable," another voice replied. Turning towards the source, he spotted Wotan using magic to fly them towards…wherever they were going. "Even the Superboy is incapable of escaping."
Beside him, Kaldur pushed himself up, looking mildly offended at the evil sorcerer's words. Grabbing the bars, the Atlantean glared at their captor, "You are not the only one trained in the mystic arts Wotan!" His tattoos began to glow and sparks covered his teammate's frame as he pulled on the magical cage, its bars bending slightly before Kaldur slumped in defeat, thin trails of smoke billowing off his shoulders as Wotan laughed.
"Please, Atlantean. Do not pretend you're in my league."
Mike glanced between Kaldur, their captor, and the bars. If Kaldur and the others could keep Wotan distracted, Mike bet he could probably squeeze through the bars. He'd had to shimmy though vents tighter than that before. Of course, he wouldn't get far if he didn't know who all he was up against.
Ok, so first part was making sure Wotan wasn't paying attention. The evil wizard was rather significant threat and would undoubtedly be the one who'd stop him the second he noticed him trying anything.
Next would be to do something before Black Adam turned around to notice. He had completely and utterly kicked their asses earlier. Superboy's punches didn't work, Aqualad's attacks didn't work, Mike's explosives and other weapons didn't work—honestly nothing short of a missile to the face would bring him down. So the moment he turned around things were not going to be fun.
Which, left Vertigo directly above them. Honestly, dude wasn't much of a problem. He could be the distraction.
Mike was not above hurling a man off a flying platform into another person to let them fall a few hundred feet into a swamp.
Which wouldn't be hard considering the dumbasses didn't take his belt. He wouldn't even have to find a way to escape the cage. The idiots didn't even bother to disarm him. They took Kaldur's waterbearers and Artemis's bow, but they didn't even think to grab his belt. Save for his tools, he still had every single one of his weapons.
Scooching back to sit beside Wolf, Mike bit his lip, glancing up towards Wotan. Thankfully, the villain didn't seem to be paying attention to them, more focused on flying. Mike could feel his team's eyes on him, looking slightly surprised as he began to wedge himself between the bars.
"Rem…what the hell—" KF's whispered question was cut off as Artemis slapped a hand over his mouth, glancing towards the bad guys.
Seeing that the bad guys hadn't noticed their antics, Artemis slowly took her hand off the speedster's mouth, scooching back to follow Mike's lead in slipping through the bars.
The wind whipped at their hair as they gripped the bars of the cage. Pulling themselves up, Mike and Artemis crouched behind Vertigo, his cape almost smacking them in the face. Smirking to himself, Mike grabbed the cape and yanked on it as hard as he could.
Count Vertigo gave a choked yelp, garnering the attention of his allies as the man was yanked off his feet and hurled off the cage towards the marsh below. Clearly alarmed, Black Adam shot towards his falling comrade, allowing Mike to hurl one of his explosives at Wotan. The explosion knocked the sorcerer away from them, ending the spell as he lost his concentration.
Unfortunately, that also meant that they no longer had something supporting them.
At least the swampy water and mud broke their fall.
The brown sludge stained their clothes as they got to their feet, looking around them as they watched the forms of Ultra Humanite and Poison Ivy step towards them. Artemis and Kaldur reached for their weapons as Conner muttered something about monkeys, lunging towards Humanite with Wolf in tow.
"Ugh, I feel naked," Artemis scoffed as she remembered she'd been disarmed. "And not in a fun way."
Mike almost balked at her comment as he turned with Wally to watch Vertigo and Black Adam land a few yards away. Yeah…he was just going to ignore that right now.
As KF charged forwards, Mike split off, running to the side as Artemis and Kaldur dealt with Ivy behind them. Already he could see the speedster slowly down as he was no doubt under attack by Duke Puke. Pulling out a few of his shuriken, Mike circled around their opponents, hurling the projectiles at them. Black Adam didn't seem to notice the weapons as they bounced off his frame. Count Vertigo on the other hand, gave a startled cry of pain, barely able to react before electricity covered his frame, breaking his concentration.
Though it wasn't soon enough, as before Kid could begin to recover Adam stepped forwards, backhanding his friend away. There was an audible crack as the fist collided with the speedster's face. Though it was quickly overshadowed by the sickeningly familiar crunch of bones shattering as the speedster's body hit a tree.
For a moment, Mike almost thought he saw a striped t-shirt as the speedster's limp form fell to the ground. But he didn't imagine the amused chuckle that came from the form in front of him.
Vision tinted red, Mike charged forwards, not even bothering to care as he stepped on the unconscious Vertigo to vault himself up and tackle Adam. Wrapping his legs around the man's stupidly thick neck, Mike used his momentum to slam his opponent to the ground. Black Adam grunted at the impact, mud splashing around them as the bad guy began to fight to get him off. Especially once he learned Remnant was not above fighting dirty.
Jamming his thumbs in Black Adam's eyes, Mike rolled off the villain, grabbing his arm and hurling him into Humanite as they tossed Wolf off of them and into Conner.
An explosion shook the air, and Mike and the others covered their heads as plant matter and glass reigned down around them, the dark air glowing orange with fire as the remains of the control plant were consumed in flames.
But they didn't have time to revel in their victory right now. Not while most of their enemies were still standing.
Mike grunted as Ultra Humanite rammed into him. Falling back, Mike kicked off the ground, diving his hands into the mud as he swung his feet overhead, catching himself in time to roll out of the way of one of the ape's punches. Now at their exposed backside, Mike leapt forwards, throwing his own punch as the smell of burned fur and flesh permeated the air, smoke rising from the ape's side as they were punched back through a tree.
"ENOUGH!"
Turning towards the voice, Mike didn't have any time to brace himself as a bolt of electricity hit his chest, knocking him on his back. Pain shot through his chest, radiating from his old scars as the lightning hit the sensitive tissue. His muscles spasmed involuntarily at the stimuli, lighting his nerves on fire as it radiated through his torso. Distantly, he was aware that he wasn't the only one screaming.
The lightning ended as abruptly as it came, allowing him to gasp in relief. His muscles and body still ached, but already the pain was beginning to fade away as his body was either healing in overdrive or he just tuned it out. He didn't particularly care to find out which right now. No, right now he was more distracted by the golden helmet in Kaldur's hands.
"NO, AQUALAD! DON'T!" Wally shouted from across the clearing, his green eyes wide with horror as he cradled his injured arm to his chest.
A gold flash illuminated the clearing, forcing the others to look away for a brief moment. Once it was gone, they looked back to see the golden form of Dr. Fate flying into the air to engage the other sorcerer.
"Wotan. You are mine."
This wasn't his fight. He needed to focus. Turning back to Ultra Humanite, Mike raised his fists as the ape charged towards him. However, they didn't get far before their rampage was interrupted by Wolf leaping onto their back, teeth digging into the ape's shoulder. Humanite roared in a mix of pain and rage, turning swiftly in an attempt to dislodge the canine. However, during this attempt, they forgot about the protégé they'd been fighting. Seizing the opportunity, Mike leapt forwards, throwing another punch at the gorilla's face, knocking them to the ground as Wotan slammed into the marsh, splashing mud and water into the air.
Mike raised his fists again, whisps of smoke coming off his knuckles as he watched Humanite push themselves back to their feet. However, instead of looking at him, the gorilla's face was looking up as they backed up. It was then he noticed that the other villains had joined Humanite and Wotan.
Following their gaze, he couldn't help but let his shoulders slump in relief as he spotted the League landing around them.
"It's over," Batman said, stepping off the platform one of the Green Lanterns had made.
All eyes fell to the Injustice League. The group glanced between themselves for a moment, likely weighing the pros and cons of continuing the fight. Ultimately, they decided to surrender, raising their hands in submission.
Vertigo coughed, blood still dripping down his nose, mixing with the mud covering half his face, "There will be another day."
"Another day?" Joker scoffed. "Another day?! There won't be another day! Not for any of us!" A wicked grin split the clown's face as he raised his hands, lines on his gloves glowing as he wiggled his fingers with a cackle. Underfoot, the ground trembled as more vines emerged from the swamp. Small red pustules dotted their surface, swelling rapidly before they ultimately burst, releasing a cloud of gas into the air.
"Joker Venom spores! Don't breathe!" Batman ordered, lunging across the clearing to handle Joker.
Mike doubted he or anyone else needed to be told twice. Everyone knew what would happen if they even inhaled a smidge of that gas.
"FEAR NOT!" Fate exclaimed, flying above the cloud. A glowing ankh appeared before him and it pulled the gas towards it. The swirling clouds steadily dissipating as they disappeared inside the symbol, leaving them with thankfully clean swamp air. "FATE HAS INTERVEINED!"
-.-
Mike crossed his arms as he waited with the rest of the Team. The bad guys were currently en route to Belle Reve, Arkham, or wherever else they were supposed to go, each being escorted by several members of the League. Leaving them with just a few adults and Fate. The latter of whom was currently the target of Kid Flash's wrath.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" the speedster screamed, glaring at the golden-clad hero. "Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever."
All eyes turned to Fate, who remained motionless for a few moments. However, to all of their surprise, he raised his hands to the helmet, a golden light flashing as it was removed.
Wally didn't waste any time to rush over to Kaldur, "Nabu let you go?"
"He almost did not," the Atlantean replied tiredly. "But your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello."
"I guess we'd say hi back, but…" Mike trailed off looking at the helmet, "I dunno if he can hear us in there."
Wally shrugged. "Maybe he can? I don't really know how it works without a host."
"What's it like in the helmet?" Artemis inquired.
"It's like…it's like a black void with one spotlight on the helmet representing Nabu's…consciousness, I guess," Wally shrugged.
"Oh…so how do you see out of it."
"Uh…" the speedster trailed off, sharing a look with Kaldur. Getting a shrug in return, the redhead sighed, "honestly, I have no clue."
The others looked at each other and shrugged. Magic may've been real, but that didn't mean either had the patience to try to understand it.
"We're done here," Batman said, interrupting the conversation between the teens. "The super-villain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance…It was satisfactory."
The wincing teens balked, quickly glancing between themselves to make sure they just heard right. They had been expecting one of Batman's infamous lectures about what they did wrong. A complement…they were not prepared for that.
"Did…did Bats just complement us?" Artemis whispered.
"I think so."
"Enjoy it while it lasts, I don't think it's ever going to happen again."
Taking that as their que to leave, they began turning to walk back towards the Bioship so they could go home and rest. At least that was Mike's plan before a hand rested on his shoulder. "Remnant," Kaldur spoke. "Fate also told me to give you a message."
Reluctantly, Mike turned around, crossing his arms skeptically. "Me?"
Aqualad nodded, shifting from foot-to-foot. "I must admit, it was a rather…strange request."
Mike shrugged, "Hey, my life's been nothing but strange. Shoot."
"Yes, Nabu told me that the Old Man said to tell you to: keep an eye on the shadows as there are traps waiting to be sprung into the light," Kaldur relayed. "Do you know what this means?"
Mike shook his head. "I wish," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "I—I don't even remember meeting this Old Man guy. I don't know why he's sending me messages."
Kaldur nodded, noticing his teammate's exasperation. "Yes…there was another message as well…"
"Lemme guess? Just as cryptic as the last one?"
"…Not exactly."
Mike looked back to his team leader, watching as he seemed more uncertain than before. "What is it?"
"He also told me, to tell you—and I'm quoting here-to get your stubborn head out of your ass and ask for help for once in your life."
Mike may not know who the hell this Old Man guy was. But the dude was seriously starting to get on his nerves.
