VIII.-
The place was an abandoned project of a solar plant. One could think that the goberment could finish their own projects, specially one so expensive and important as a solar energetic plant. But, of course, lots of projects were changed and abandoned during Luthor's presidency. If it was not lucrative, it was not necessary.
"Bad vibes everywere." Said Gar as soon as we were all out of the Jet, shivering and looking around. His ears, even in his human form, seemed to turn here and there, looking for sounds.
"It's true." Said Raven. "I can feel it too. There's something definitively evil in here."
"So I was right." Said Bart, so full of himself he was going to explode.
Cyborg eyed him, smiling.
"Yeah, Kid Flash, you were right."
"Wow. Iwas right. You know, Rob, this feeling is cool". He said, grinning in my direction.
I smiled too, but just because I didn't want Bart worried as I just have worried Con.
"Can we stick to bussiness, please?" Asked Superboy.
"Yes. We better don't dely, we don't know if that psycho has made any progress with his resurrection yet." Said Cas, siding, not surprisingly, with Con.
Not that she was not right, of course.
So I unfolded the map we had printed back in the cave and set it before us.
"There's an entrance to the facility just down the path." I said, showing the way with my finger through the paper.
"Wich path?" Asked Gar, looking over my head.
I looked.
It was all bushes and tall grass and ever some bramble.
Great.
"Well, obviusly, the path was there before all of this grew. Now we are going to fight our way through the jungle." I added, sardonically. "Not that it will be much of a problem to you."
"Not at all". He said, turning himself into a rodent and disappearing in the brushwood.
"He could have turned into something bigger to clean the way for us." Protested Con.
Koriand'r scolded him with just a stare and flew.
"Zolworg tuback plxing zardbarker!" She mutered as she followed Beast Boy from above.
"I think she means we don't need to destroy this vegetagion." Said Cyborg, smiling to the startled Superboy.
Con raised a few feet from the ground, still looking abashed, starting to follow her. Cassie went with him, a warm smile on her lips. And, of course, Bart just had to do what he did best and thorns will not even touch his clothes.
So he did.
Twice, at least.
He disapeared and then, 'plop', he was back.
"The door is heavily closed." He said. "Do you want me to try and open it while I wait for you?"
"And how are you going to do it?"
"I read a book about picking locks."
Cyborg rolled his eyes.
"Just don't touch anything till be arrive."
"Ok."
And he was gone again.
Victor, Speedy and I turned to Raven, our lift, aparently. She spread her cape and wrapped us, and when she unfolded her arms again, we were by a small, simple and dirty metalic door. A sign warned the curious about possible electrocution quite graphically and, although humidity had done its very best to rust the frame, the door was, as Bart had said, heavily closed.
"Can you unlock it, Robin?"
I looked at the eye of the lock and it seemed to guard no nasty surprises. And I was not thinking about bombs or boobie traps. I remembered a time when, as a child, I had tried the door of an abandoned church. A wasp nest in its lock had given me a very swollen and painful experience.
But this lock was clean, so I nodded and using my picklocks, began working on it.
"Let me do it, Rob, please. Come on, come on. I've read books about it. I can do it."
"Yes, Bart, as you could drive a batmobile." I replied, not looking up. "No, thanks."
"Oh, come on. With so rusty a lock... I'm sure my vibration will make it easier."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I've already done it."
And while the door opened with a gentle "click" I flashed a smile to Bart.
"Show off."
"Because I can. You first? And I opened the door wide for him to pass.
He grunted, but sprinted past the door.
The rest of us followed... mostly.
I heard a lound pang and a thud, and when I turned I could see Cyborg with his back on the ground, still outside the door. Starfire was frowning while Beast Boy was bouncing against nothing, trying to reach Bart and me.
"We are... trapped?" Asked Kid Flash, concern sounding strange in his voice.
He ran to the door, but he banged. Only me standing right behind him prevented a bad fall back.
"It seems so. It's everyone alright out there?"
I aproached the door, sensing with my fingers the force field that was stopping us from going out and them from coming in.
"Shouldn't we be asking that, Robin?" Speedy was also proving the field with the tip of an arrow.
"Probably." I shrugged. "Look, there was a back entrance somewhere. You head for it and me and Kid Flash will wait for you here."
Cyborg pondered it, but was going to agreee, because there was not really much of an option.
"No way I'm going to let you two trapped in there." Retorted Con, taking flight, aiming for the door.
I tried to warn him. Save him a lound crash against nothing...
Cassie, knowing better, just flew behind him, preparing to be his cushion.
"Superboy don't...!"
Getting onomatopoeics, the thing went like that: Swoosh, thud, putum, putum, pattang!
Wich means that somehow Con and Cass flew through the door, stomping over me and sending the three of us stumbling down the corridor until we hit a wall.
It hurt.
"What the...?" Con was trying to stand up without tripping on my cape.
"We made it!" Cassie was already up. "Perhaps the barrier is low."
Bang!
Beast Boy birdie form crushing against the shield smashed her theory.
"Oh, great." I murmured while Victor aproached the force field, making sure he still couldn't pass through it.
Starfire, always expeditious, asked him to move and sent one of her powerful rays, that simply bounced back, making her duck.
"X'hal."
"It's no use." Said Raven. "I cannot teleport inside it."
"And I cannot vibrate through it either." Added Bart.
"It's magic." I concluded, stating the obvious.
"But..." Superboy was trying his tactile telekinesis. "Why just us?"
"Don't you really see it, Con?"
Cassie opened her eyes wide.
"He wants Young Justice!"
"We have understimated him again."
"Understimate my ass!" Conner banged a fist against his open hand. "He wants Young Justice... let's go give him some of it."
"That's the worst idea that you have ever made into words." Wondergirl looked at him in disbelief.
"But..."
"He is right, Cass."
Everyone turned to me.
"Am I?"
"Is he?"
"Well, not in the speech, but in the essence. I pretty much guess the rest of the Titans are not going to be able to cross that door if we don't end this magic in its source."
"Harm." Grunted Cass.
"Harm." I said, smiling to her.
She smiled back, shurgging, kind of giving up.
"Ok, whatever. I'll be glad to kick his ass anyway."
Then I turned to Cyborg and the others, who were clearly against the whole plan, even if I hadn't voiced it yet.
"Let us find the other entrance." Asked Victor.
"It's fine to me, but I'm afraid it will be of no use. In the meantime, we are going to look for Harm and try to neutralize his magic."
"Be careful." Pleaded our leader, and I could just imagine his frustration. He was suposed to keep us safe, and we were just out of reach and on our own.
"Hey, I've got a Super, a Wonder and a Flash... what can possibly be wrong?"