DC Comics Presents: Killing Roy Harper
Chapter 19: Robin and the Legion of Doom
By Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: Robin™, the Legion of Doom™ and all other characters and situations used in this story are ©2002 by DC Comics Inc. and are used without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment only. This original story is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author
Don't be a smart-ass.
"I'll ask you one more time, you little brat," the Master-Jailer said as he looked down on the young man who was currently caught in one of his many traps. This particular one involved a Plexiglas sphere that locked from the outside. The sphere also contained only ten minutes worth of air. "How did you get in?"
The idea that a kid could penetrate the Legion of Doom headquarters, a skull-shaped dome hidden in the swamps of South Carolina, infuriated and embarrassed the criminal. He was responsible for security.
Don't be a smart-ass.
"The quiet kind, huh?" the criminal asked. He moved over to a small panel and pressed a small red button to summon the rest of his team. "I thought you were dead," he said as he took a closer look. "Where's Batman?"
Robin looked at him and bit his tongue. His broken wrist hurt and it itched underneath the cast further adding to the discomfort he felt speaking with someone whom he considered to be nothing more than a costumed moron.
Easy, Jason; it was thinking like that that killed off your Prime Universe self! The Master-Jailer could not know it by looking at the youth in the orange/green/yellow costume of the Teen Wonder, but they were from the same world. The trapped boy was the Jason Todd, the second Robin, of the long since destroyed realm of Earth-1, recently released from Limbo. He had been accepted onto this world and offered the opportunity to join the Wardens, but had elected for reserve member status.
During his time in Limbo, he had watched the life of the true Jason Todd and noted the arrogance and plain stupidity that had led to his early death. Jason was determined not to have that happen to him.
He lived by a strange motto now, taking a cue from various Christian groups he now found himself drawn towards. He wanted to, in his life as Robin, to emulate the greatest Robin of all, Richard Grayson. Now, whenever he was unsure or he felt that anger starting to creep up his spine, he would mutter, "what would Dick do?"
"The air is stuffy in here, let me out," he said.
"It speaks," the Master-Jailer said with a snort. "The air is gonna get worse if you don't tell me what I want to know, kid."
"So, the Legion kills children now?" Robin asked. He knew a lot about the Master-Jailer as such a man had been required reading when he had been on his own world. The Batman always had found the Master-Jailer's traps interesting. "Man, have you guys gone downhill."
"We kill super-heroes," was the reply as a door opened on the far end of the room. Robin cast a glance up to the broken ventilation shaft. He had managed to get past several traps on the outside, traps he had prior warning of from Super-Woman. The Maid of Might was once a member of the group, but had since reformed and joined the Wardens. She had assembled a strike team to penetrate the Legion headquarters so that the final battle with the Time-Guardian could begin.
Along with her and Robin, who had been selected to scout the area (the Legion dome was lined with lead to prevent the use of X-Ray vision), the rest of the team was waiting for his signal. And it wasn't just his fellow Wardens; there was also the real Roy Harper, the man the Time-Guardian wanted to kill and take the place of, one of the Wonder Women of the Prime Universe and this world's foremost liberal crusader, Cheshire.
"Obviously you didn't do it right," Robin responded before he could catch himself. Though he couldn't see the Master-Jailer's face because of his mask, he was sure the man's visage was not a happy one.
"Let him out," a man in red armor said. Jason recognized him as being from his world as well, a terrorist who once threatened to destroy the world.
"Dominus!" the teen cried out.
Behind Dominus strode other members of the Legion of Doom, including Wendy, or Wonder Wendy, as she preferred to be called, the woman who had broken his wrist. "Loverboy!" she said with a clap of the hands. She moved past Dominus and came up to the ball. "Let him out!" she ordered.
"Wendy…"
She turned to the Black Flash. "Is there a problem, Mr. Garrick?"
"We don't have time for this," he replied. He then turned to Dominus. "Sir?"
Dominus nodded and the Master-Jailer pulled out a small key and slipped it into a hidden keyhole on the Plexiglas bubble. It came apart in two halves and deposited Robin onto the cold metal floor.
"We need to talk," Dominus said.
"There's some sort of sonic field up that prevents my super-hearing from penetrating the hull," Super-Woman said as she ran a hand through her hair. In an effort to change not only her inner self, but also her outer, she had put blond highlights into her hair. A scientist by trade whose only romantic venture was with the Time-Guardian himself, she had no idea of the beauty she possessed and she was self-conscience about the change.
Hawkman, however, had noticed and had been making lewd suggestions to her all day long. Wonder Woman had noted, though, that whenever Dawnstar was in earshot, his jokes got cleaner. Obviously, there was some connection between the two of them but Hawkman wasn't about to put all of his eggs in one basket. She smiled at the pun.
Some distance away, two strangers were discussing their lives and each wondering what could have been. "On my world, you're an international terrorist. You set off a nuclear bomb in the country of Qurac," Arsenal said as he threw rocks into a festering pond.
Cheshire stretched out her long legs. "I can't even begin to imagine it. Nuclear weapons are wrong," she said, observing the way Arsenal moved. He looked like the Speedy of this world; he even looked like Kid Flash, except there was something more…mature about him. Here was someone who wanted everyone to believe he was an irresponsible rogue, but deep inside he was an honorable man.
There was great pain in Roy Harper's eyes as he spoke to her of his fallen love and his missing daughter. He had confided in her that he wasn't even sure that he would be able to find her once all of this was over. "Yeah, but I still love her," he admitted as he skipped a flat stone.
"She is very lucky then. To still be loved even after doing the things she's done, it says much about your character. I can't imagine unconditional love," she lamented. "But I suppose that is what your daughter offers you."
He noticed how her voice dropped as she spoke of Lian. "You don't have children?"
"I am unable. I protested in Tibet several years ago; the Chinese police took great pleasure in examining how much pain I could tolerate." Her eyes watered slightly and she turned away. He stopped throwing stones and regarded her. She was everything he loved about his own Jade without all of the bad things. This was the woman he had seen in those rare private moments he had shared with his daughter's mother.
"I'm sorry," he offered as he sat down next to her. In the time they had been together, ever since Super-Woman had saved them from the Metropolis Police Department, they had been inseparable. "But what you did was so brave."
She snorted and wiped away a tear. "I guess Tibet isn't free on your world either?"
"I guess some things transcend dimensional barriers," he said with a sigh. He rubbed his chin stubble. "Yeah, my world has it share of troubles; it isn't paradise but we try. We have super-villains and terrorists and criminals and some real ass…"
"I get the idea," she said as she turned. Their faces were only inches apart and he felt his heart breaking as he realized he could press the moment no further. He could not start something here on this world, because he didn't belong here. This was not his daughter's mother and though he sensed she would be a great one, he could not accept her as a replacement. Above all else, he had to save his daughter. If the Time-Guardian managed to take over his life, he would never get hooked on drugs and would never separate from Green Arrow. He would never be on his own and end up getting recruited by Checkmate and would never end up falling in love with Cheshire.
She seemed to sense his unease and backed up a little. She was starting to understand why her counterpart had fallen in love with him. "We should go ask your friend Wonder Woman what is going on."
He giggled. "She's not my friend! I dated her daughter, but that's as far as it ever went. Hell, I never actually spoke to her until today. Good thing she's here, though; with her invisible plane, getting back home should be pretty easy."
"You see, I managed to escape from Limbo as well," Dominus said as Wendy held Robin in place. He hand was rubbing his lower back behind his cape. When he had first encountered her, she had explained that on her world she had been madly in love with Robin, the Teen Wonder. Of course, she also claimed to have been the sexual plaything for the so-called Super Friends. "I won't go into the details, but let's just say I made a deal with the Devil."
"I'm very happy for you," Robin said, trying to move forward. Wendy held him fast and with his broken wrist, there was no hold he could apply from his given position. "Now, if you'd just let me go, I'd be more than happy to finish my mission and leave you alone."
The Grundy growled and Robin actually stepped back. Better to be Wendy's boy toy than the Grundy's lunch. The creature was beginning to look more and more like Solomon Grundy, probably a result of the regeneration that occurred whenever he was damaged. Too bad it didn't help his mind! "You might be surprised how close you are to guessing what we have in store for you."
"Hey, where's the Time-Guardian," Robin asked, looking at the villains. He saw one with a green face and half a Batman mask. He had been warned about the Composite-Superman, easily the most powerful member of the Legion after the Time-Guardian. "Isn't he the guy who holds the leashes here?" Smart-ass!
He then muttered under his breath. "Who is Dick?" Dominus asked.
"I know where we can find…"
"Wendy!" the Black Flash corrected her again.
"Enough of this," Dominus said with a wave of his arm. "If you haven't figured it out yet, boy, things are changing within the Legion of Doom."
"New health plan?"
The Grundy surged forward making a noise that sounded like a cross between a bull moose belching and a bear exploding. A crimson-armored arm launched out and blocked the man-monster. Robin had no idea if the armor was powerful enough to stop him, but regardless, the Grundy stopped. The Teen Wonder remembered the graphic descriptions provided to him by the Flying Fox of the Batwoman's murder by the brute. "You have the mouth of a typical teenager," Dominus scolded. "It will be the death of you if you don't watch it. I'm giving you the chance to walk out of here alive."
Robin recited his mantra in his head several times and then nodded. "I'm listening."
"A first, I'm sure," Dominus replied with a smile. He lowered his arm and the Grundy scowled. "Your friend's plan with the television interview has demonstrated that the Time-Guardian is unfit to lead the Legion. His second-in-command, Alexi Luthor, had hopes of taking control one day. Alas, those hopes are now dashed."
Robin said nothing. Super-Woman had apprehended Alexi Luthor and the Star-Tsar when they tried to kill Wonder Woman, who had been searching the internet in the Gotham Public Library for information that had been labeled by the Legion as subversive. Alexi had been mysteriously murdered in his cell underneath the Warden's headquarters.
After that, the Huntress and Deadman made the decision it was time to take the Legion down and figure out a way to stop the Time-Guardian. Already, three of their members were being held somewhere in this building: their team leader Nightwing, the Dark Flash and Aquagirl.
Though he had been putting on a brave face, he knew that Kid Flash was terrified that Aquagirl was no longer alive. It was one of the hazards of being a super-hero, they all knew that, and Kid Flash had volunteered to be the scout for the advancing Wardens. The Huntress, acting team leader, had said no and instead requested Robin's help since he had the experience.
"We believe that one of two things is going to happen," Dominus continued. "We feel that you heroes are either going to take him out of the picture or else he will defeat you and go off to the Prime Universe."
"I can see where that would upset you," Robin said, hoping he didn't sound too sarcastic.
"Not really, but we feel there is a chance he will back out of the deal he made with Alexi about letting this world continue to exist."
Robin now understood. This wasn't a meeting to turn him into meat paste, but an effort at a truce. Many of these beings, like him, had seen their lives end with the coming of the Crisis. This world was their second chance and they were willing to ally themselves with their enemies in order to live.
The truth was that he wanted to live as well, and he was pretty sure he could vouch for the other members of his team. The there were the billions of citizens of this planet and the planets of all of the galaxies that existed in this reality. The words that he spoke now had so much riding on them and his mantra became a song in his mind. He straightened up and pulled away from Wendy, who seemed to coo at the sudden movement.
Like it or not, he was the representative for the good side of humanity. He had to ensure that he did nothing that would undermine the moral integrity of the Wardens. "I suppose that's possible," he answered.
"Obviously, you are the forward scout for an army of goodness, ready to come and smite down the evil dark demon and his minions," Dominus said. "What would you say if the minions went to Florida to get in some sun and surf?"
"If they just left, heading south?"
"Not even a guard left to watch over your three teammates, who, by the way, are alive and reasonably well two levels down," Dominus added.
"Don't be stupid, boy," the Black Flash warned.
Robin knew the reason; the Legion was planning on turning on the Time-Guardian, no doubt spurred on by Dominus. In order to increase their chances of success, they wanted the Wardens to go in first to soften him up. If they won, so much the better.
Unfortunately, Robin understood that this was the only chance they had to get the Time-Guardian. With the Legion out of the way, they would be able to concentrate everything they had on him alone. "Okay," he finally said and the entire Legion seemed to relax.
"The Time-Guardian's powers are affected by this world. His mind-control abilities and his time vision do not work, but at may only be temporary." Dominus turned to the rest of the Legion and nodded. All of them, including the Master-Jailer and Wendy walked out (though she did give Robin's butt a quick pinch), leaving the two of them alone.
Now that they were alone, Robin fantasized about taking Dominus down, but he dismissed it quickly. He had a busted hand and was knee-deep in enemy territory. "The Time-Guardian, for all of his supposed knowledge, is a fool. He fails to see what is before his eyes; instead he is blinded by his own absurdity. He is an abjuration, phlegm caught in the throat of God." Dominus turned back to Robin. "He must be destroyed."
"We don't kill!"
"But you will have to," was the cold response. "Don't believe me, I don't care. You will see."
"We. Don't. Kill."
Dominus shrugged. "If you don't, you will die. Once the Time-Guardian learns of my existence and how I orchestrated the rebellion of his troops, then I will be forced to kill or be killed. Do not fool yourself into thinking that he will simply go away."
Arsenal finished relieving himself and zipped up his pants. He had to hurry back to the others because Robin had just gotten back. He turned around and ran right into the face of Extant. "Son of a ..!"
"So nice to see you as well, Harper," the villain said.
Roy punched him hard in the jaw and Extant went down. Once, Extant had been a friend, a hero and fellow Titan. He was nothing more than a cheap version of the Time-Guardian. In fact, he had, according to the members of the Wardens, helped the Time-Guardian out in his plans originally. "That's a free shot, Harper; the next one will cost you!"
"Anytime you're ready," Arsenal responded, his fists cocked and ready.
Extant remained on the ground. "I came with some advice. I know what's going on."
"That's surprising because from the looks of it, you don't have a clue!"
"Whatever, Speedy," Extant sneered, rubbing his jaw. "Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?"
"Before I knock your teeth down your throat? Sure, speak up."
"It's just some information. You know how the Time-Guardian says he's the true Roy Harper? I've seen him with a bow." He started to stand up and brushed off his uniform. "You're better."
"Sure, jerk; I'll challenge him to an archery contest." Arsenal turned away from him. "Once this is over, you can expect a good ass kicking!"
The hero emerged from the rift sooner than had been expected, but he had put on an extra burst of speed towards the end. He was needed and he had never, ever failed to heed the call to duty. The "S" on his chest was a testament to his dedication to life, liberty and, some said, the "American" way (though he felt it more appropriate to say the "human way").
The original Superman knew where he was going, the location of the evil buried deep in his brain. Once he learned something, he didn't forget. He was on a mission to prevent the complete destruction of everything.
Alexander had received a message of sorts from this place, telling him that a great evil was rising. Despite the danger associated with using his abilities, Alexander, the son of the Luthor of Earth-3 and Lois Lane, had opened a conduit between worlds. "Won't that cause the complete destruction of the universe?" Superman had asked, remembering what the youth had said at the end of the Crisis if he ever used his powers again.
"I was being a little melodramatic for effect," he said with a wry grin.
Faster than a speeding bullet, Superman headed towards South Carolina.