Chapter Five—
"Lift with your knees, Atlas, the heavens are a burden but in the starlit ink of constellations you have written: endure."
Arley had been eight when the Justice League had formed; but she had just turned twelve when the League had been thrust into the spotlight and outed to the world by the Joker. At that time the League's secret base hadn't been the orbiting satellite they called the Watchtower but instead the hollowed out Rhode Island mountain the world now knew as Mount Justice.
Dubbilex had the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his large head as Arley stopped the truck she, the genomorph and the clone boy had all stolen. It was dark and the Rhode Island street lamps that lined the streets were dimly lit, Arley turned back and looked at Dubbilex who was slunk down in the backseat and Superboy eyed the outside of his window suspiciously.
To the beat up trucks left was a tiny house, the yellow homes shutters were green and the front door was an obnoxiously bright red, even under the cover of night. Superboy's hand was on the latch of his door, the clone was ready to burst out of the truck and attack if a fight presented itself.
"Can you get a read on Carr from here?" Arley asked the genomorph.
"If he's home I should be able to," Dubbilex replied before he closed his eyes and his horns glowed red. The genomorph breathed in deeply a moment later, as the glow of his horns started to fade Dubbilex opened his eyes, "He's home, and he's clear."
"He's alone?" Superboy asked. Dubbilex nodded.
"Good, come on then." Arley shut the truck's headlights off and got out of the truck; Superboy and Dubbilex followed her lead; all three Cadmus escapees quietly shut the truck so as not to draw attention to themselves. Taking point, and leading the genomorph and Superboy across the street, Arley limped up to Lucas Carr's tiny home.
Lucas Carr— Snapper —had been the whole reason that the Joker had found out about the Justice League and their mountainous headquarters; afterwards, as the League stepped into the light, the young man had retired his suit and started living as a full-time civilian.
Arley had never been close to man, she'd only ever been to Mount Justice a handful of times and he had always just been someone who passed her in the halls, but when he had retired— after Mount Justice had been attacked —Arley, with most heroes back then, had found herself agreeing with the man's decision; it had been better for him to retire then mess up again and cost a civilian or hero their life.
But he'd been a hero once upon a time, and you don't become a hero for fame or fortune; you do it because of circumstances. Because there's something at the bottom of your spine, tingling when the chance to do the right thing presents itself.
Because you're a good person, even if you're a fuck up of immense proportions. And Arley was sure he still felt guilty for nearly getting the League and their allies killed six years ago.
Superboy hovered close to Arley as she rang the doorbell, his bicep knocked gently against her shoulder.
He was rude and brash but protective. For every biting remark he made Superboy was quick to follow it up with some kind of caring action; when the three of them had broken into the house back in New York Superboy, in the same breath had remarked how any other teen hero would be more useful to be on the run with all whilst carefully bandaging her back and wrapping her other wounds, warding them off from infection.
"Coming!" A man— Lucas Carr —called out from inside of his house. Dubbilex scuffled behind Superboy so that he wouldn't be seen when Carr first opened the door.
The door was thrown open and Arley felt both herself and Superboy tension. Dubbilex had said that the man was clear, that the home was empty and yet Arley had to consciously restrain herself from reaching behind her in order to grip the hilt of the knife she'd taken from Cadmus.
Arley blinked at the man who had answered the door because no longer was Lucas Car the same young man who had almost— accidentally —gotten the Justice League killed, but instead had become someone who looked like the kind of teacher who told his students to drop the prefix of 'Mr' and just call him Carr, because he was just that cool of a dude.
"Uh?" Cars brows knitted together, "Do I know you two?"
Carr's hair had grown out, no longer was it spiked up and covered in gel; the tips of his hair hung in front of his eyes and the man no longer had a wispy soul patch on his chin but rather a thick and scruffy, full fledged looking beard.
The man wore a mint green robe over his checkered pajama pants.
"Come on Snapper," Arley forced a smile and Car's eyes widened, "Have you seriously forgotten me? I'm one of the best to ever sling the ring."
"Holy shit," Carr swore, "Green Lantern?"
"Arley actually." Arley couldn't actually remember if she had ever personally introduced herself to the man, "Can we come inside?"
Carr let out a mangled 'Yeah' before he threw himself out of the way. Superboy entered the house first— Carr let out a squeak like sound at the sight of Dubbilex —and then Arley followed behind as the genomorph trailed into the home after her.
Carr quickly shut the door to home behind them.
"Aren't you supposed to be missing-I remember Batman showing up saying you were missing!" Carr said, he moved from the door, "Flash came by with Bats years ago and said to call the League and let them know if you ever showed up at Mount Justice—"
"—The League-Batman, the Flash, everyone's been compromised so do me a favor and shut up just listen okay?" Arley responded loudly. Pale at the notion of the Justice League being compromised, Carr nodded. "I-Vandal Savage, Lex Luther, Queen Bee and several other big Bads have banded together to create what they call the Light. Three years ago they captured me at Cadmus Labs when I went to investigate the suspicious activity going on there. Three days ago, with the help of the Superman clone Cadmus was force growing—" Arley pointed at Superboy, Superboy jerked his head up in Carr's direction, "—And with the help of Dubbilex, a genomorph—" Arley pointed to Dubbilex who just simply blinked at Carr, "—I managed to escape."
Carr took a sharply, shaky breath in through his nose, "That doesn't explain how the League's been compromised," Carr replied.
"The Light has not only mind control at their disposal-Batman came to Cadmus three years ago only to be mindfucked into leaving me there but also the Light's placed clones inside the League, any number of members could secretly be Light sleeper agents waiting to strike."
Carr looked faint, he had rapidly become paler and paler and the white skin of his face had a green hue to it.
"So," Carr stopped for a moment, he swallowed the ball in his throat, "So why come to me?"
"You've been out of the game long enough not to be on the Lights radar, and well, you almost got the League killed six years ago," Arley answered honestly. Carr's shoulders flexed as he tensioned, his eyes narrowed at the mention of his past mistake.
"And?"
"And if you were ever even remotely serious about being a hero then you'll do what you can to help me, Superboy and Dubbilex stop the Light."
"I don't have powers," Carr said, "I know how to fight but like you said, I've been out of the game for years. I'm a high school civics teacher now."
Arley's eyes narrowed.
"Right," she scoffed, "This was a mistake-to you, being a hero was just a game wasn't it?" Arley asked sharply. She looked at Dubbilex and Superboy, "Come on we should leave."
But before the three could take a step forward back towards the door Carr threw his hands up in front of himself.
"Wait!" Carr said, "Wait, just-what do you guys need me to do?"
…
Jump City's Titans Tower was quiet, it was the middle of the night and Wally West stood on the roof of the 'T' shaped building overlooking the ocean that surrounded the tiny island.
Arley was alive, she had been the past three years and he had no idea where she was.
The Lanterns, Hal and Guy and John— John's wife Katma and Kilowog and apparently another Lantern he had never met, Arisa —hadn't yet arrived but it was only a matter of time before several bright green lights shot back into the planet's atmosphere.
Wally breathed deeply as he leaned against the towers railing; none of the League members— Batman and his uncle, Green Arrow and a dozen other heroes who had watched Arley grow up, who had been close to Hal and the other Lanterns —would tell him or the other boys how she had gotten the scar on her face, or how her leg had been injured, just that Arley had been held captive.
Hell, Batman and the other Leaguers weren't even telling them who had held her captive. All any of them were saying was that the scientist in charge of Cadmus Labs had turned into some sort of blue monster incapable of speech and still too raw from the transformation for Manhunter's telepathy.
Barry had stressed how none of that mattered. How what she went through and who put her through all of that was only second on the totem pole of priorities because Arley was alive.
And maybe Barry was right; Wally breathed. Maybe Barry was right because at the end of the day Wally would find her. Or Arley would come to him; she would show up back in Coast City or on his parents' doorstep or even outside the front gates of Wayne Manor. She would. She had to. Wally wouldn't be able to bear it if she didn't.
He wasn't sure he'd be able to take it if she didn't remember him; if he and the others found her and she cocked her head and raised her brows in the same way he still dreamt about and asked, "And who are you?"
He'd deserve it— he left her; turned his back on her that day at the Hall and practically left her to rot —but by God, would it break him.
Wally turned when he heard the roof's door open; Roy stood there. A steely face shrouded in dark.
"I thought you'd be out here," Roy said as he inched out of the doorway and closer to Wally. Wally didn't reply as Roy saddled up next to him, instead the speedster looked at the sky— at the stars —and wondered how long it would be before he got Arley back.
Because he had to get her back; had to find her. He'd always known she was alive and now that he knew she was out, Wally knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he saw her again.
Roy clapped a hand on his shoulder; "Bats left."
"Good riddance," Wally muttered.
Batman had been wrong— had been blindsided and out maneuvered —and Arley had paid the price for it. Though it could just as easily be said; Wally had been stupid enough to blindly believe what he was being told and let Arley get tortured.
They'd all been angry at their mentors back then but Arley had stood by them. She's been loyal and trusting; she had been on her way to being a real bonafide member of the Justice League and the League, they took care of each other. None of them had thought to doubt Bats on finding her.
Morons. They had all been morons.
"He'll be back in the morning," Roy said with a huff of quiet laughter. Wally simply frowned. "Wally, we'll find Arley, you just have to be—
"—What?" Wally hissed, "Be what Roy? Patient?"
Roy's lips pressed together, his mouth twisted as he heaved a breath out through his nose. For a second Wally thought maybe Roy was going to tell him not to be an ass, to get his head in the game and shut the fuck up.
But he didn't; instead, with his hand still on Wally's shoulder Roy said, "Sorry."
"What?" Was the world ending?
"I'm sorry, you're right, patience isn't going to get us anywhere. But neither is getting angry and doing nothing while we wait around for Batman and the rest of the old timers to figure out a plan," Roy said.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Dick had a lead a while back-he wasn't sure how credible it was back then but now? Now it looks a lot more than credible." Now they had somewhere to start.
"Why didn't he mention it earlier?" Back when their old mentors and various other Leaguers had been at the Tower.
"So his old man could run it down himself?" Fair enough. "He and Kal are in the living room."
"What are we waiting for then?"
…
Eighteen hours after unexpectedly showing up at his house, Lucas Carr looked sick to his stomach and Arley almost enjoyed the look on his face. With two hatchets, three flare guns and half a dozen different kinds of guns spread across the former heroes kitchen table Arley, Superboy and Dubbilex we're nearly ready to storm what the Light would have— by now, since their escape —turned into an evil, suped up version of Fort Knox.
"You're sure you don't want me coming with you guys? There's strength in numbers."
"There's also a massacre," Superboy replied. The clone leaned against the wall; while Carr had gotten them all new clothes as well Superboy had kept on the too small Superman shirt he had originally stolen in D.C after breaking out of Cadmus.
Carr winced. "Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right."
Carrs eyes flickered to Arley who was familiarizing herself with the weapons; putting the guns together before taking them apart and repeating the entire process until she could do it in thirty or seconds.
"You don't have to do this," Carr said, "Wait until I get in touch with Manhunter or Superman, you said they couldn't be cloned. You three could hide out here, safe."
"With Savage running around we'll never be safe," Arley said without looking up. "Besides they might not be able to be cloned but they might be able to be controlled. This is the only option."
Until Arley had Savage's head mounted on her wall she'd never be able to close her eyes at night without fearing she'd wake up back in that cell.
When Dubbilex had offered to drive for a few hours Arley had woken up screaming. She could still feel the shackles binding her wrists, stringing her up.
Arley sniffed. She was going to gut Luther like a fish when she got her hands on him. She would make him scream the way Sportsmaster had made her.
"I hate it."
"I hated being tortured for three years but no one actually cared about my option when that was happening," Arley said coolly.
Her wounds had been bandaged and both her right middle finger and knee had been splinted. Until she got the serum she would just be a liability in the fight against the Light.
And she couldn't be; not if she was going to destroy them. Not if she were ever going to feel safe in her own skin; not if she was ever again going to be able to take a deep breath and not feel a crushing weight bearing down upon her chest.
Carr sighed; he looked sorry. Pitiful. He pushed off the table; "Who wants eggs?"
Without looking up and away from the guns Arleys hand raised, as did Dubbilex and Superboy's. Arley would be a lot of things when getting her revenge.
She would be harsh and swift; judge, jury and executioner. A hindrance however, would not be one of them.
She wouldn't rest until she was holding Savage's very literal and bloody heart in her hands.
…
The lead Dick had gotten sometime back had been Slade Wilson. Deathstroke. Assassin extraordinaire and complete and utter sociopath.
It had also been Deathstroke that found them before they— Wally, Dick, Roy and Kaldur —could find him. He had found them all hours after leaving Titans tower, in some Jump City alleyway near one of his old, abandoned hide outs. The gun for hire had just so happened upon the four young heroes with a chuckle.
All four young men spun.
Kaldur pulled the water barers he hadn't used in years from his back and Roy pointed his notched and ready arrow at Deathstroke.
"When I heard about your friend I knew you would come to me Robin," Deathstroke had said from his spot on the fire escape.
"It's Nightwing Slade," Dick snapped. Deathstroke shrugged.
"Perhaps, but you'll always be Robin to me."
"What do you know about Green Lantern!" Wally snapped.
"You mean Arley?" Deathstroke's face was covered by a metal plate but Wally— and the other three —could practically see the smirk he was wearing behind it. "I know a lot. It just depends on what you want to know, and what you're willing to do for it."
Anything. If Deathstroke could lead Wally to Arley then there wasn't a line he wouldn't cross. And they all seemed to know it because Deathstroke's eyes gleamed in the dark alleyway.
Dick put a hand on Wally's arm and snarled up at the gun for hire; "We'll let you walk out of here, how about that "
Deathstroke chuckled; "I was planning on walking out of here regardless, young Robin."
Roy fired his arrow into the brick next to Deathstroke's head when the metal plated Man moved, shifting his weight. Roy then notched another arrow before anyone had time to blink.
"Now really isn't the time to fuck with us Wilson, where is Green Lantern," Roy demanded to know. Deathstroke's eyes narrowed from behind his mask, his chin tilted up and he leaned forward, over the fire escapes railing.
He sighed, like this was all one big chore for him.
"I don't know; if you had come to me a week ago I could have told you but just like you, I'm in the dark. No one knows where she or those genetic abominations she's running with are. If you find her though, want to let me know? There's a bounty on her after all."
"If you don't know where she is then what good are you," Kaldur said. He had always been the most level headed of the bunch; always a soldier before a hero but his voice contained a rage none of the other three had ever heard before.
"I can give you a list of Light bases." Roy drew back his arm, ready to fire.
"The Light?" Kaldur asked. Deathstroke chuckled.
"You boys, you all really know nothing, huh?" Wally let out a frustrated growl from the back of his throat. "The Light-you boys don't think a singular person managed to take and hide that Lantern of yours, did you?"
Wally pressed his lips together.
"Who is the Light?" Dick asked, Deathstroke leaned his elbow on the fire escapes railing and then his chin on his open palm.
He tisk-ed at the boys. At Dick; "Now come on Robin, in formation like that? It costs."
"And what do you want?" Wally asked before Dick could tell Deathstroke to kick rocks.
"I want Robin to say thank you."
"Excuse me?" Dick took a step forward.
"I want a thank you, I mean, I am helping you out. Usually information like this costs money."
Wally saw Dicks fingers curl into fists. His teeth scraped over his bottom lip and for a moment the speedster thought he was going to have to shake the dark haired hero.
"Thank you, Deathstroke," Dick hissed, "For the information on The Light." Deathstroke straightened his back, obviously pleased.
"The Light is a syndicate. It's hundreds of people."
"Surely it has a leader. Every organization has one," Kaldur said. Deathstroke gave a half shrug.
"There's been a recent power struggle. Usually the Light has several heads but since the Justice Leagues recent arrest of Ocean Master and yours of the Brain last year, two seats have remained unoccupied as if late."
"Who are the five still in charge?" Wally demanded to know.
"Queen Bee," Deathstroke began to list on his fingers, "A Lord of Chaos, Klarion. Ra's Al Ghul. Luther and Vandal Savage. Though from my understanding it was Savage who was there when that Lantern of yours was captured. Which is why," Deathstroke pressed, "I'm going to be generous and tell you where various Light bases are located."
"Please you wouldn't know the word generous if you looked it up in the dictionary—"
"—How rude Robin—"
"—What do you actually want, Deathstroke?"
He didn't answer right away. Deathstroke surveyed the boys for a moment.
"The Light has assumed control over the criminal underworld. With Ra's at the head of the table and me no longer a member of the Shadows it means scraps. Picking up jobs they don't want and getting told to stay away from the ones I do. Help me to help you."
"Why would we care where the bases are though?" Roy asked. "Arley escaped."
"You don't think your girl won't end up at one of those? You don't go through what she has and let the Boy Scout in Blue take care of all the loose ends," Slade drawled. "Hell if I were her, I wouldn't stop until every member of the Light was dead and buried. You know on second thought? Maybe I should have her cleaning up house for me."
"Arley is better than that!" Dick snapped; and Wally, he wanted to argue that too. He wanted to snap that Arley wasn't anything like Deathstroke but instead, he asked,
"What the hell has she gone through?" His voice low and rough. His eyes burning.
None of the boys could see Deathstroke's face but none of them needed to, to know that he was smiling behind his mask. He was getting off on the pain in Wally's voice and the need to find Arley coursing through each and every one of the boys.
"Where do you want me to start?"
"Kid you don't need to hear this," Dick tried, Wally just pushed him away, stepping back with the makings of a snarl on his face.
"Yes I do, look if you can't you can wait by your motorcycle. But I'm not leaving until he—" Wally jabbed a finger in Slade Wilson's direction, "—Tells me just what the hell she went through." Wally needed to know how he failed Arley. How they all had.
Dick let his fingers curl into the palm of his hand before he turned to Slade, tight lipped and stony faced. Slade let loose a chuckle, one that set the boys all on edge at just the sound of it.
"Wonderful. Now that that's settled, where should I start? I've heard so much on how she screamed for you boys over the years." He then jumped down to be ground level with them, "You know if you let me go home and get it, I think I even have a recording somewhere—Savage wanted everyone to hear the first time she broke and begged him to stop."
Wally felt his heart drop into his stomach.
…
Arley, Superboy and Dubbilex sat in Carr's tiny silver Toyota, down the block from the Boston Cadmus building. The sun hadn't yet fully risen over the city's skyline.
It looked like every other skyscraper in the city. It didn't have a secret basement or hidden lab; but it was where they were not synthesizing the Blockbuster formula but where one of the men who worked directly under Desmond had an office.
And it was in that office Dubbilex was sure, would be a list of Light bases they could hit.
Arley checked the gun that sat in her lap with one hand while with the other, she threw the baseball cap she'd worn for the drive from Rhode Island to Massachusetts into the backseat with the genomorph.
She stuck the gun into the front of her waist band so that it was easy to grab.
"Ready people?" Her arms straightened as she took the wheel. Superboy breathed. He knew how to get back to Carr's should anything go wrong; that if she and Dubbilex didn't make it he needed to run.
Arley had given him a list of other addresses to go to; Guy's house in Detroit, The Kent's in Smallville. An abandoned factory street kids in Gotham hid out winters in.
Superboy's head bobbed up and down and Dubbilex leaned forward.
"For our brothers."
Arley looked down at the ring in her splinted finger. It was dead; had been for a long time. It was cool against her finger. Arley could remember a time it used to hum with warmth against the skin of her hand.
Back when she used to soar across the universe.
Back before she had been thrown to the wolves and forgotten about.
"For us."
Arley jerked her chin up as she maneuvered the car out of the spot she had parked it and then, with no hesitation— no baited breath or pause in resolution —as she pulled out of the spot, Arley pressed down onto the gas, and drove right through the front of the glass Cadmus Labs building.
Savage was right.
Arley fired at the security guard in the lobby before her car door was even fully opened. The guard dropped and his partner let out a yell.
Earth's seconds Green Lantern died in that D.C sub basement.
But she— the same girl who had survived the Gotham foster care system and its cool wintry streets all by herself at the age of eight —had clawed her way out of the rubble, bloody and angry. And perhaps without a ring she was no Lantern.
Maybe she never would be again.
But she would be the person who brought the house down upon the Lights heads.
Notes: So sorry for the late update, I had some stuff going on and while I had the chapter pre-written, it dose take a minute to transfer it over to here. Thank you though for sticking with me and THANK YOU GUEST FOR THE COMMENT; honestly it's what got me to finish up the latest chapter I've been writing and every time I go back to read it I smile.
ILY you anonny. And I love everyone else reading this story! (though I would apricate some more comments pls, they really do help the creative process uwu so if you liked the chapter please leave me a comment down below!)