26 August 2010
Mount Justice, Happy Harbour
"—Attention Team!" Batman barked as he & Robin appeared on the Cave's computer, late that night. It was a strange sight, seeing him and Robin absolutely plastered in clay and mud; especially since the Dynamic Duo looked so utterly defeated—another strange sight. Apparently that quick & easy solo mission that the two had disappeared off to do some days previous, turned out to be something completely else. "Take a zeta-tube to Gotham City immediately, and rendezvous with Robin at these co-ordinates…"
"What is the mission?" Kaldur asked, arms crossed and all business, despite the Little Mermaid pyjama pants that pooled around his feet as the co-ordinates flashed across the screen.
Although the Dynamic Duo may have looked like quite the sight, the Team too must have of as well (as told by Robin's quirked brow). All of them were dressed in varying arrays of pyjamas and the television could be faintly heard playing in the background. Ever since Rachel had moved into the Mountain, various members of the Team had done their best to make herself feel comfortable in this new place, instead of the Tower for which she had once called home.
"Shouldn't we wait for Artemis?" Wally added, looking around for the (missing) archer in question. Much like the Dynamic Duo had done a couple of days earlier, she & her mentor had disappeared off to Star City for some mysterious infiltration mission.
"Don't wait" Batman refuted, "There's a creature loose in the city"
"If it's your city, then why are we hunting it?" Conner replied, arms crossed as he stared down the Dark Knight in nothing but a Superman t-shirt and a pair of flannel pyjama pants.
"You are NOT to hunt it or engage" Batman corrected, "TRACK it until I return with the solution"
27 August 2010
The Sewers, Gotham City
Come to me, my love, my Kaldur! Aqualad pictured the sight of his oldest & dearest friend and crush—Tula—in his mind's eye as they wandered through the twisting labyrinth of the Gotham City's Sewers.
They had been sloshing through the grey waters (some of the floating, some of them trudging) for some time now and it wasn't hard to let the mind wander down here in the dark. It had been a long time since Aqualad had seen anyone from his homeland, let alone his closest and dearest friends (there were others, of course, but at that point in time when the stench of grey water clogged his senses, it was only the pretty ginger who captured his mind).
'Kaldur…!' Ms Martian telepathically called, trying to make sure that the atlantean was still linked to the rest of the Team. 'AQUALAD!'
'Wha—what?' Aqualad blinked back into the present.
'Are you linked?'
'Oh—oh yes, Ms Martian, your psychic link functions perfectly'
'That's a relief! We couldn't hear you; it was like your thoughts were a million miles away'
Perhaps not a million. Aqualad mused as his thoughts drifted away from the mission & the psychic link once more. But certainly hundreds, in Atlantis, with Tula. I should be there with her, but instead I am in this Gotham sewer on the hunt for some unknown monster. How did I end up here…?
SCHLOOP!
Before the atlantean's thoughts could delve further the murky waters beside them suddenly surged up; coming to life and pinning each of the sidekicks to the algae-covered walls. It would seem that the monster—the villain—they had been hunting, was instead, hunting them. A manic cackled fell past clay lips as it squeezed them tight, crushing breaths and bruising ribs.
How did I end up here? My name is Kaldur'ahm, but I am perhaps better known as Aqualad, leader of the covert team that operates under the aegis of the Justice League. Aqualad reminisced as he was squashed up against the sewer wall and tried his best to keep the large clay hand from completely squishing him. Across the way, each of his teammates were in much the same positions, although not necessarily upright nor with the ability to breathe.
Superboy had been shoved hard enough to crack the surrounding bricks as he became glued to the curved wall which lay parallel to Aqualad's own. Beneath him, Ms Martian had been submerged into the grey waters which would have of killed any other creature, had it not been for her martian shapeshifting abilities. Bent around the pipe on the ceiling, Raven appeared to be having trouble breathing as her head was submerged in clay and her legs, whilst free, kicked uselessly in the air.
Below Aqualad there sat Robin, who had taken a much harder hit than the others (likely thanks to his earlier foray with the villain, at Batman's side) and wheezed pathetically as he was forced to contort in a strange manner (yet, somehow the Boy Wonder seemed more irritated than pained) and finally there was Kid Flash, whose legs had been glued together off to the side. Although smothered in wet clay and unable to move particularly well, the speedster seemed to be more upset about the state of his appearance than the actual surprise attack, itself.
But I should not brag of leadership today, not when I now witness the price paid for losing focus during a mission; for allowing my thoughts to drift back to Atlantis, to Tula. Now, I can witness the price, and the penalty. Aqualad inwardly chastised himself as his atlantean tattoos began to glow a brilliant blue that illuminated the dark sewers. One hand propped itself up between himself and the clay hand whilst the other hand inched back towards his water bearers which clung to his back. But perhaps it is not too late to recover from this error.
SCHLING!
Not for me and not for my teammates. Not for Ms Martian, for Robin, for Kid Flash, for Superboy and Raven. With one fatal swoop, Aqualad's blade slashed straight down through the limb that kept him in place and from the corner of his eye, he watched with relief & pride as his teammates moved to do the same. Ms Martian had grown extra limbs alongside her gills, allowing her not only to breathe underwater, but to also pry apart the sausage fingers that were clenched around her in a snake-like grip. Superboy, on the other hand, simply wriggled enough so that he could get his arms free and then proceeded to punch out his captor, until he was let go.
Up above, the clay that held their youngest member hostage, suddenly exploded outwards as a surge of black magic forced the clay to let go of the witch and although Kid Flash looked rather perturbed at being showered in even more wet clay, Raven was thankfully free from her restraints, if a little out of breath. Besides Aqualad, Kid Flash rotated his hands in small circular motions (people often forgot that it was not just his legs that could move at superspeeds) that generated enough momentum to push the clay back; at least far enough that he was able to zip out of there. In turn, Robin had palmed several exploding batarangs that were enough to shock the creature into letting him go, landing amongst the grey waters just as Ms Martian had done some moments ago. Just like that, with all the sidekicks freed from their bonds, the fight was over and the villain was defeated; or so it seemed.
"Well" Raven hummed, now mercifully airborne. "That was unpleasant"
"Indeed" Ms Martian agreed as she joined the young witch in the air, "Like tangling with a rabid ma'alefa'ak on Mars"
"What's a 'malafak?" Superboy asked as he helped Robin to his feet, but the Boy Wonder simply shrugged in response. The martian girl apparently hadn't heard the kryptonian's question and no one else seemed to know what she meant either, so they just let it go. Just another strange question to add to the myriad of others.
"Unpleasant sure…" Kid Flashed huffed as he slowly rose to his feet, wiping wet clay out of his eyes as he did so. "But kinda easy, don'tcha think? That thing was such a pushover! What the heck was the Dynamic Duo so worried about?"
"I wouldn't be so cocky, if I were you, Kid" Robin piped up from the back, a little peeved about being called out like that.
SCHLOOP!
Almost as if summoned on cue—as if to spite the heroes—the clay monster resurged from whence it had hidden, once again attacking them without warning. Unlike last time, this was no walk in the park and unlike before, they were not able to free themselves before being pummelled into the sewer water.
"…Spoke too soon!" Kid Flash groaned as he popped out of the water and the sound of maniacal laughter echoed about the sewers as the mysterious villain left them to wallow in the grey waters.
"Is everyone okay?" Aqualad asked as he wiped muck from his jaw and tried not to think about the fact that he might have of, in fact, swallowed some of the pollutive gunk.
"Ugh! My head…!" Ms Martian groaned, cradling her head in her hands as Superboy moved to help Robin once more, hauling him upright and out of the water.
"Ack…!" Raven squawked as she resurfaced next to Robin a few seconds later, coughing and hacking up the mouthfuls of water she had accidentally swallowed as she was dunked.
"Nice going, Kid Mouth!" Robin sassed as he clapped Raven's back several times, trying to help her cough up the last of the water.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…!" Kid Flash waved off.
At least they're alive. Aqualad reassured himself, mentally ticking off each of his teammates as they resurfaced and reappeared in his line of vision.
And then, to add insult to injury, Batman called. "Batman to Team, report status. Have you encountered the creature?"
"If that's Batman, ask him where Artemis is" Kid Flash grumbled as he wiped as much of the muck off of himself as he could, grimacing all the while. "And how come she gets to skip out on this so-called sewer party fun?"
"Are we sure it's gone this time?" Raven asked, her voice hoarse from all of the sudden abuse it had suffered.
"God, I hope so" Robin replied as the young witch leant up against his arm.
"Yes, Batman" Aqualad replied over the comms, one finger coming up to press the little device further into his ear so that he could better hear the Leaguer's words over the rush of the sewerage water and his teammates' grumblings. "Although, the encounter was far from successful"
"Tell me everything that has occurred. I want all the details"
27 August 2010
Bioship, Gotham City
"…Man! I need a shower!" Kid Flash groused as he meandered out of the back room, dressed in a clean costume. "I mean, what is the point of putting on a clean costume when I'm not fresh?"
"Oh, Wally!" Ms Martian reassured, "You're always fresh!"
"In what sense?" Raven couldn't help but smirk as she raked a hand through mercifully clay-free hair. Although short, it had been a bitch to clean out.
"Nngh!" Kid Flash ever-so-maturely stuck his tongue out in reply.
"At least you have a clean costume!" Superboy complained as he inwardly cursed his lack of wardrobe that meant he was left stuck in the dirty ones.
"Yeah, an old back-up!" Kid Flash whined, "No stealth mode! No communicator! And it's a little too tight! It stinks!"
"Actually, I think the stink is you, Freshness" Robin retorted, slipping on a new pair of gloves before turning to the others. "But what about the creature?"
"Batman wanted us to track it, remember?" Raven replied as she tried to scratch off the last little bits of clay from her bejewelled forehead, using the closest window as a mirror.
"Why should we settle just for that?" Kid Flash scoffed, "Okay, sure, it got the drop on us before. But now, we know its tricks!"
"Yeah!" Robin nodded enthusiastically in agreement, a wicked grin spreading across his lips as the boys planned aloud, "We split up and then whomever finds ole 'Clayface' can radio the Team…"
"…We'll converge and kick some clay butt!" Superboy ended, more than ready to hit that thing again.
"What do you think, Aqualad?" Ms Martian asked, turning to their leader who had remained resolutely quiet where he sat in his chair, seemingly pondering on something that had captured his attention throughout most of the mission.
"What?" Aqualad blinked back into reality at the call of his name, "Oh, yes, it seems that we have a plan"
