Sorry for the delay in this chapter it was really difficult to write Again... any critisism and suggestion are appreciated. Especially if anyone doesn't like what I say about H.I.V.E. or Superman.

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part 6 of 9

It's believed that if one is pursuing the profession of cannon fodder, all that has to be done is join the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination. Essentially they're a bunch of terrorists who dress up like bees and call themselves H.I.V.E.. They have an abundance of resources for tactical espionage and warfare. There are no ranks in their army. There are no promotions from within. The soldiers give up their individuality and selfish exploits such as life itself to a particular monarch or general. It's believed that they are getting paid or that there's a country somewhere that these soldiers come from giving themselves up to blind nationalism. The truth is much sadder. They're people who gave up.

Countries across the continents are filled with injustices and victims' cries. This organization is a byproduct of those cries. After genocidal atrocities through this century, millions of people are left imploring for justice. Pol Pot and his totalitarian regime in Cambodia left thousands of people knee deep in plagued corpses and living desperation. Idi Amin Oumee united Uganda at the price of the Acholi and the Lango tribes. Nicolae Ceausescu led his communist country of Romania to overpopulation, starvation and disease from 1965 until his execution in 1989. Rwanda, Iran, South Africa, Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Congo, Columbia, Panama, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Libya, Quaraq… the list goes on. Thousands of voices, millions of souls have and are left in shackles of oppression and plight.

There are people all over the world who would do anything to rid themselves of their pain. They would give up their identity and free will to end it. The Hive Master formed his army from the plight of nations. After his demise, the H.I.V.E. relinquished their loyalties to Madeline Kane and her successor Damien Dahrk. Each soldier gives up their identity and will for the sole purpose of serving. Their lives are forfeit and their emotions and souls are dead. With leadership freely given, they relinquish their moral precautions and do as they're commanded. Their hatred for their wrongs is replaced with a gun, a uniform and an order.

Now they are ordered to drag the seemingly unconscious body of Nightwing bound tightly in thorn covered vines by his legs to the cells with the League members he betrayed. The other soldiers that cross in the hallway never glance at the body. Their orders are given and their attention is unwavering.

A thin trail of blood follows the limp body of the fallen hero. His entire body is wrapped similar to a mummy but with his arms at his sides. There are three quarter inch thick vines surrounding his neck and piercing his skin and diminishing the blood flow to his head. Two more cover his mouth leaving it unable to close. The vine that covered his eye has been removed leaving a series of small cuts streaming across his face and a crack in one of the lenses of his mask. Both of his eyes are opened wide, but the lenses in his mask prevent the soldiers from knowing that fact. From his vantage point, he can tell how to get where he was, but more importantly, he sees Brother Blood. In the bottom left corner of his left lens, he sees a small vid- screen.

Without Blood's knowledge, Nightwing left a small lipstick camera in Blood's chambers. The goal was to get more information than he already knows, but the results end up with him being forced to see his own daughter being held in the hands of the monochromatic megalomaniac. He sits in his throne drinking a sifter of blood looking at a flickering flame coming up from his bleached alter. Nightwing is unable to make out anything that can be seen in the flame, but suspects that it's a kind of vision of either Nightwing himself being dragged to the other captives or of the league members themselves. Regardless, Nightwing can see a look of anger or annoyance in the face of Blood. The look on his face while holding his daughter fills Nightwing with a fear he's never known before.

Nightwing then feels the vines get tighter as he's dragged along the ground. Every bump from the rigid stone floor digs the thorns along his back deeper into his costume and into his skin.

The soldiers stop outside a door. The metallic mechanizations of the door are in contrast to the hellish surroundings. Nightwing thinks to himself of the possibility that Brother Blood is using magic acquired from hell thus changing the appearance of the instillation. There is a hissing sound that echoes in the hallway as the door slides aside and reveals a barrage of heavily armed troopers. Twenty soldiers lie on the floor, twenty one are on their knees between the laying troopers, and twenty are standing between those soldiers. All soldiers are holding high voltage laser rifles pointing toward a thick, steel doorway. Each soldier is also equipped with a conventional G11 rifle across their backs. On either side of the soldiers are two automatic chain mag high powered rifles with, most likely, armor piercing rounds.

None of the soldiers turn to acknowledge the door beside them opening up. The two soldiers dragging Nightwing continue to push forward into the room and stop in front of the thick doorway. After a mere thirty seconds, another hissing sound is heard and the thick door slides open revealing a long hallway with a red lit room in the distance. The soldiers continue to drag him toward the light. Nightwing can hear in the distance the voices of the league members.

"Stop doing that, you're only making it worse."

"I've… almost… got it."

"If it digs in any deeper, you're going to cut an artery. Even if you get out, you can't get out of the cells in your current state."

"What about you Diana? Diana?"

"The roots aren't moving at all."

"It's got to be magic. If I could get my hand free… how's Batman?"

"Still unconscious. Whatever Nightwing did, he either made sure Batman wouldn't wake up or he's a part of it."

"Diana… that's enough…"

"She has a point. How many times do we have to be played with by the damnable Bat-clan before enough's enough."

"Do not agree with me without understanding my meaning. I am merely suggesting that his duplicitous nature makes it difficult to predict his motives."

"Wait… I think someone's coming."

At that point, the HIVE members dragging Nightwing finally reach the small prison. It's a circular prison with seven cells pointed toward the center. Each cell is specifically designed to hold the members of the Justice League. All the cells have black stalagmites popping up from the ground Next to the entrance of the jail is John Stewart's cell. His arms are shackled behind his back against the far back of his cell. To the left of the entrance to the jail is Aquaman in a similar cell. The way he is sitting, Nightwing suspects that his arms are linked at the elbows behind him. Dick also sees some light green metal appearing around Aquaman's neck which he suspects to be some kind of processed veridium. A bright, white light above Arthur is baking his tough skin, dehydrating him. Just outside his cell is a six inch round cylinder of water sealed in a thick plastic-like material. Nightwing assumes that Arthur's hand is being kept in the container, just out of his reach.

To the right of John Stewart is Batman. He's being held in a kneeling position in an iron maiden like torture device made of veridium that comes up to his neck. His cape is draped over the back of the device. His arms are out in front of him in a rack contraption that has little loops above each hand with the base of his fingers being held back essentially keeping his hands from clenching to grip any device to free himself. His white slits are open and show white pupils, but his inactivity and expressionless lead to the impression he's unconscious. To the left of Aquaman is Wonder Woman. She's being held in a similar kind of vine that surrounds Nightwing, but hers is thicker and is still root to the ground. Below her is some kind of a pentagram with arcane writing around it.

Beside her is Flash. He's encased in a clear, spherical dome that has some kind of metallic contraption below him. The Flash is standing in an unusually stiff position leading Nightwing to the assumption that the device is prohibiting any movement from him. To Batman's right is a cell with a two foot veridium cube placed atop a similar pentagram with archaic symbols as Wonder Woman. There is also a keypad with a series of numbers and symbols.

In the center cell is Superman. Artificial red sunlight is being poured down on him. He's being held up a foot off the ground with his arms extended outward tangled steel barbed wire. The more he struggles the tighter the wire gets. As his powers are sapped from him, the wire begins to dig into him. He can feel his legs beginning to go numb from the blood loss, but he still shows a face of dissent. His face appears to have been abused by a very powerful being.

The center of the room descends inward to a large Celtic like design on the floor. Above it is a shallow ceiling with a two inch steel hoop protruding down. To the right of center is a small pulley system and a thick, rusted chain.

"Well, the prodigal turn coat returns."

"Arthur… not now."

The two soldiers wrap his legs in a chain, thread it through the hoop and hook the other end to a pulley system. They then lift him upside-down off the ground two feet before proceeding back to the entranceway. They turn around and stand watch over the prisoners. Nightwing's body begins to twist as the chain sets. When the swinging stops, he's forced to look directly into Superman's cell. More clearly, he can see the physical abuse Clark received.

"Hey kid, if you got a way to get us out of the mess you got us in, we're all ears."

"He… he can't talk… His mouth's gagged."

Clark's having a hard time looking up. Nightwing thinks that it's because of his own betrayal of the team, but it's actually because a strand of barbed wire is sticking into the back of his neck. Superman, more than anyone else in this world, has unwavering faith.

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He has more faith in Nightwing than he does in Batman. Batman and Superman have always respected one another for their abilities. Batman respected Superman's eternal optimism and idealism while Superman respected Batman's selflessness and constitution. When he first saw a ten year old kid with all these characteristics helping Batman… he wanted to end it right away. He didn't understand why Batman would endanger a ten-year-old's life like that. Batman wanted things done his way, and Clark was forced to respect that. Over time, Clark noticed a change in Batman. His passion for crime-fighting became less of an obsession and more a desire for justice. He was less reticent when working with others and joined the Justice League. He started wearing a blue costume.

When Clark worked with the dynamic duo, he saw other more familiar aspects. He saw Hal's fearlessness and confidence. He saw Ollie's stubbornness and insight. He saw Barry's reasoning and leadership. In such a youth, it was inspirational to see. He accepted the idea of Kid Flash and Wonder Girl as the legacy of the heroes. More importantly, Clark was no longer apprehensive of the future. He had faith in it.

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Whatever reasons Nightwing had for doing what he did, Dick Grayson has Superman's resolute faith and support.

"Is there any way him being brought here can help us?" Arthur asks.

John huffs a wicked grunt commenting "I'm getting satisfaction from it."

Wonder Woman shoots a glance at John silencing him quickly. She sees the bloody body of Nightwing dangling like a stripped fish. Even as a betrayer, he doesn't deserve to be displayed beaten like this. Despite these rationales she holds dear, she can't help but feel a slight hint of providence in his anguish. She pushes those feelings back and tries to reason with him. She's always underestimated Batman, so she now tries to overvalue the youth.

"Nightwing, I think that you're choosing not to escape because you blame yourself for our situation. Do not pity yourself. Realize the situation you're in and actively make things right. Get us out of here and all will be made right." She waits for his response only to receive no reaction at all. All Nightwing can sense is the small video feed in front of him. He tries to distance himself from his emotions for a second. He tries to see the elements. Brother Blood. His daughter. Blood's watching the prison now. Why? What's missing?

"Wow. That really inspired him. He's feeling sorry for himself with more intensity now. You really stimulated him princess."

Superman tries to raise his head looking toward Green Lantern. "John? What's gotten into you?"

"We should be finding a way out of here. Instead, we're relying on the principles of the guy who stabbed us in the back."

Wonder Woman interjects, "He hasn't betrayed us." Nightwing notices her voice is curiously louder and more emotional than usual.

"He used information on us to capture us. We're in here because of him. What do you call working for the bad guys? If he's stupid enough to get us in this mess, I doubt he's smart enough to get us out."

In his eye piece, Nightwing notices Blood's attitude change. As the animosities between the leaguers intensify, Brother Blood becomes more relaxed. Nightwing also notices a slight increase in the pitch of the voices around him. Inside the prison, Superman is dumbfounded by John. GL may not know Nightwing very well, but his reaction to the situation is more prideful and sarcastic than usual.

"John… focus."

Arthur exacerbates the situation with, "This coming from a third rate Lantern who can't take on a Teen Titan by himself."

"You're one to talk you self-centered overgrown fish."

Shaking her head, Wonder Woman intervenes again asking, "What's gotten into you two?"

"Stop this… now."

Wonder Woman then looks toward Clark's cell, retorting "You do not have to repeat me you know. You do realize that I can make decisions for this team myself."

"I didn't mean… that you couldn't."

"Then do not say anything. You are in no position to advise this team now."

"What is that supposed to mean? He's only leader when he's got his powers? The most powerful member leads?"

"Of coarse I didn't mean that…"

Nightwing notices their facial features beginning to stretch. Their skins begin to lighten. Blood vessels become thicker in their eyes. On the ground below him, the insignia darkens and deepens into the stone. Immediately, Nightwing recognizes the changing. It's a Trigon manipulation the Titans experienced. After the manipulation was complete, only Raven's sacrifice could bring them back. Batman turns his head to look directly into the other cells. He too notices the transformation.

"That means if Hal, Kyle, Alan, Kilowog or Guy are on vacation, you can lead."

"Don't go there fish man."

"And without your ring, you're right after Blue Beetle."

Batman turns his head to face Nightwing. Nightwing returns the glance to see him asking for some signal. Nightwing looks in the vid-screen to see Brother Blood, sitting with a broad smile across his face. His sifter of blood is almost dry... If he can hold out a few more seconds, Blood might turn his attention away. Only a minute is needed. Nightwing looks back at Batman and shakes his head.

"If neither of you two can control your emotions, neither of you should be on this team."

"Clench your jaw you self-obsessed bitch," Arthur responds.

"Diana… you're not… helping things."

"You're defending them now? Childishness aside, I wish they would take this matter seriously. We need less dissent."

"We need… a plan… chiding someone… without a plan… is pointless."

Where is the magic vision coming from? The symbol on the ground must be used to transform the league… the one in the cells under J'onn and Dinah are keeping them still magically… The guards? Why are they here? If Brother Blood has constant surveillance in the cells, then why are they here watching… He's seeing through them. Nightwing looks toward Batman and glances his eyes toward the guards.

Batman begins to vibrate rapidly in his restraints. He moves faster and faster until his form begins to blur. In his "blurred" state he stands up through the veridium shackles and walks out of his cell. The second he is outside, a black and gray line streaks around the cell block for a split second. After the second, the two guards are unconscious with their armaments and uniforms removed. Arthur's hand is released from its containment and left in the cell with Wonder Woman. The Flash's containment device is severely damaged and the Flash is released from his stasis field. Nightwing is free of the vines on the ground letting the blood flow out of the rest of his body. Standing over him is Batman with his arms on his hips looking down at Nightwing.

"What's a sleeve choke from an improvised butterfly guard?"

...To be continued

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For those who don't get the obvious, it's Flash... I know Batman can't vibrate through viridium. If you comment, please don't mention that. I don't like the dialogue either so I'll probably change it so it makes more sense.

I'm also addidn another chapter as Brother Blood is anticlimatic after taking down the Justice League of America. I'll try to make it good.