"And so here we are people: the West-Reeve Marauders vs the Eastside Eels. This my friends is for state."
"2 outs bottom of the ninth and a runner on first. The count is 2-2. Wayne is on the mound, has 15 strikeouts and is looking to pitch a shutout in the state championship game for the first time since 1989. West-Reeves are up two zip on the Eels. A win here delivers the Marauders their first state championship ever. And my oh my, isn't this place just buzzing!"
Damian took a look around, eyes meeting the tv broadcast briefly before looking away up to the stands where all his family stood once again. This was the final game of the season, but it felt like it had only just started.
He was as cool as a cucumber, not worried at all about the Eels. The Marauders were undefeated when he pitched for a reason, still he found himself not really wanting all of this to end. It was a new experience for him and if he threw one more pitch he could end it all in a moment.
"Time again!" The umpire called as the batter once again stepped out of the box. And as expected he was met with a chorus of boos.
"Oh come on Ump, just how many times are you allowed to do that!?" He heard Selina yell angrily, and he couldn't help but grin.
It seemed every game his section was growing. At first from just Selina, Helena, and Jon and Lyta. Then it was Jon's parents, and then his dad finally got the memo. Then it was like his whole family decided they were coming to games, and he was suddenly seeing Grayson, Todd, and Drake every week. Along with Cass and Steph.
And then Lyta told Wonder Woman where she was going, who then in turn asked Bruce at a Justice League meeting why he never told her about Damian's sporting adventures...And from there it just spiraled.
It seemed like there was a new Leaguer every week. Flash and Green Lantern. Cyborg, freaking Booster Gold. And then it seemed like it was becoming a time to hangout with friends as everytime Drake appeared it was with his entire Young Justice crew who admittedly weren't as annoying as usual. It didn't make sense that they'd be that interested in baseball Damian's mind. So his working theory was that they just wanted to see Batman out of his element.
Today it was a full crowd with some of Dick's friends showing up as well. He did wonder if it was wise for them all to be here, it seemed like a lot of cities would be prime real estate for crime right about now.
Regardless, forgetting about villains and big crowds, His coach had made it very clear that he shouldn't be focused on any of those guys, instead the group of scouts sitting at the front row, grading his every move.
It was almost funny. Everything he had been through, a couple of baseball scouts weren't going to be what phased him. But it was interesting. He had never seen his life as anything other than as an outlet for Batman.
It was weird to think about. What if he had just dropped everything and became a MLB player? Maybe if the world was in a good place he'd consider it. Even then Wayne Enterprises was pretty enticing.
But when people like the Injustice League were out there, how important was something like Baseball? Now this put a frown on his face, the thought of the Injustice League.
"Time's up. Play Ball!" The umpire called, forcing the batter Grant Davidson to take a deep breath and step into the batter's box.
"There we go, light him up Damian! He's got no chops, I've seen better cuts at the deli, And you know how I feel about that deli!" Selina yelled once more.
If nothing else, listening to how competitive Selina got at his games was good enough to put a grin back on his face. It was showtime.
Grant was shaking a bit and it was clear to Damian that this kid was not ready for this moment. He almost felt bad, but the kid should understand that he literally never stood a chance. Walter gave him the telltale sign for a fastball. It was only fitting the kid was shaking like a leaf.
Damian took a deep breath and wound up high, before kicking out and throwing an absolute heater that no sixteen year old batter should have had to deal with. That was Major League stuff, and by the time the ball hit Walter's glove only then did Grant start swinging. He was hopeless.
"Steerike Three! Ballgame!" The umpire yelled as the crowd erupted victoriously. He couldn't hear what the commentators were saying but the happy looks on their faces said enough. It was cool that he could make a bunch of people happy just by throwing a little ball. But now as he saw it, it was goodbye Baseball. Hello Injustice League.
"YEAHHHHHHH!" Damian heard from the left of him as his entire team rushed the mound. Or well it wasn't exactly goodbye Baseball yet. His teammates lifted him up in the air a couple of times, and he decided he would enjoy the moment. There was no need to be so serious just yet.
Soon enough Coach Gibson got them to put him down and a flurry of things happened after that. It seemed like in seconds there were gold medals for the entire team and they were lining up for a team photo.
Of course for him not only did he get to hold the championship trophy in the photo, but he also had his MVP trophy as well. After that Walter pulled him to the side and handed him the game winning ball saying that he deserved it.
"I know it might be weird." Walter told him as he handed him a sharpie "But a lot of people in the crowd kinda want your signature. Not sure if you want to do that, this is just to sign the ball."
Damian thought normally he wouldn't...But eh, why not? "Sure I can do a few. But my family first."
Damian went over to his section and settled his cap on Helena's head who reached out and hugged him tightly, bringing an aww from the crowd. It was just as embarrassing privately as it was publicly.
Next he signed the baseball, and tossed it to his father who caught it with ease. To which the crowd of course erupted especially after Bruce did a little wave. Privately however they shared a little look, and it gave Damian a funny feeling knowing he made his father proud. Genuinely.
He gave his glove to Selina, and then attempted to hurry through the next part, but it was as if everyone in the crowd knew what he was going to do as he took off his jersey and threw it over to Lyta who caught it simply, attempting to hide her reddening face.
He could have swore he had never heard the crowd as loud as that, and he barely caught a glimpse of his entire family's faces as they reacted with varying degrees of shock and possibly proud laughter.
As he left he caught a glimpse of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. The former who looked amused, and the latter who seemed to be giving Damian the stink eye before turning to Lyta ready to certainly barrage her with questions.
After that it was a bunch of media availability. Talking about if he would play any more this year, a few questions about his father and his relationship, and other family members, barely any questions about baseball, and what felt like a ton of questions about Lyta.
"No, I'm not dating anyone. Lyta's just a friend so I gave it to her." Damian explained to them for what felt like the millionth time.
The stadium was emptying quickly and he was ready to leave. The reporter seemed ready to ask another question when he was saved by the bell.
"My little brother won't be taking any more questions. Sorry." Dick insisted with a friendly smile.
"But-"
"You heard the man." Tim added with a shrug and a grin
"Just a couple-
"Ma'am." Bruce stepped in, the friendliest looking face of them all, and yet it held the most dangerous tone "He's leaving now."
The woman nodded and ran off, and Damian could only roll his eyes at their dramatics. His family truly was something else.
"I can't believe you kid." Jason said with a shake of his head and a laugh as they walked to the parking lot
"What?" Damian questioned
"Oh nothing." Steph said with a smirk. "Just didn't expect that is all."
"Expect what?" Damian asked defensively "The jersey thing, come on who else would I give it to Jon?"
"Tch, it was basically an open declaration of love to anyone with eyes, but if you say so." Jason sniggered "Still can't believe it. Swap the jersey with a ring and we were at a proposal."
Most of the others laughed and Damian didn't even deign to respond. Speaking more would just dig the hole deeper for himself. He'd sit back and let Father deal with it. Eventually he'd get them to stop.
"It was a nice touch doing it right in front of her father." Bruce added with a smirk "Won't be fun dealing with that, I'm sure."
"Father." Damian hissed, surprised he joined in
"I mean Damian, it was on Live TV." Bruce pointed out with a smile
"Looks like we know what Gotham Central is going to be reporting on for the next couple of months." Dick told the large group "Gotham's youngest son is already off the market before he's 18? And who could be the young girl that has stolen our prince's heart?"
More laughs and at this point Damian didn't even care. Things are good right now. He felt almost at peace. Almost.
"Give me a moment guys, I won't be too long." Damian told his family as he spotted Lyta and Jon waiting in the parking lot in their usual spot as they always did after games.
He was happy that Lyta's parents were in their car, and even Superman and Lois were far from the scene, leaving the three friends some time to talk.
"Great game as always Dami. Too bad the season's over." Jon told his friend immediately with a big grin on his face, and he gave him one back, but something about both of their smiles lacked the proper genuinity it usually had in spades.
"It's only natural Jon. Can't play Baseball in the freezing cold." Damian said with a shrug before turning to Lyta who held his jersey tightly in her hands. She had been dressed up for the big game and looked happy enough, but she was in the same situation as the boys.
"Congrats Damian! You are exceptional!" She said with a smile, and this is what eventually removed Damian's smile from his own face.
Lyta was very clearly uncomfortable, and no it wasn't because she had been on the big screen, or anything like that. No Damian knew she'd be a blushing, stumbling, adorable mess, which in turn would make him into the same thing. No she just wasn't comfortable. And that's when he knew.
"You guys feel it too?" Damian questioned softly. They looked confused and so Damian kept talking "It's so quiet. Almost eerily so."
"Yeah." Jon admitted "Me and Lyta were talking about it before the game, we didn't want to bother you, obviously this was a huge day and we didn't want to bring the mood down but-
"It's fine Jon. I understand. I've felt like this for a while too."
"I don't know Damian." Lyta started "It's just like...the calm before the storm. I just have a weird sense of eeriness ever since our thing in Turkey, I don't know why but I'm worried."
"I get it." Damian nodded "And it's good we're all on the same wavelength. The best we can do is stay careful. We know something's coming. We just have to do our best to prepare for it. And if something does happen. We're going to fight it. Together."
"Yeah." Jon nodded looking a little happier "You're right Damian. We've got this. My parents have been waiting for me, so I've got to head out. But I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Jon's abrupt departure left Damian and Lyta alone for a moment and for a while neither knew what to say. About anything for that matter. They kind of just stared for a while and Damian was sure the silent acknowledgement was there, but he was jarred out of reality when Alfred blared his horn. "We don't have all day Master Damian."
"Right, I'll see you later Lyta." Damian said and was about to leave before she pulled him into an almost crushing hug, "Seriously congrats Damian. You're the best."
"R-right." Damian responded but by the time he did, Lyta was basically already in her car and he even thought she might be laughing.
As he entered the Wayne Limo he ignored the looks from everyone as he entered and instantly told them seriously "Not a word."
"..."
"..."
"So he's totally in love right guys?" Jason asked, and the limo once again exploded with chatter. Whatever, even if something bad was going to happen. He was going to enjoy this time with family. This was a good day.
TRINITY
Lex Luthor did not know how to feel...Hmm, maybe that wasn't true. He was annoyed. That was for sure, the one undeniable emotion he had felt constantly for over 8 months.
He was annoyed when WayneTech managed to surpass Lexcorp in sales in 6 of the last 9 months of work. He was annoyed that he had needed three new bodyguards in that span because they all seemed incompetent.
He was annoyed that it was taking him so long to push out his plans, and he was annoyed that the reason for this was three dumb and lucky teenagers.
Now the three teens, or the 'Young Trinity' as the Daily Planet had called them a few times, were a bunch of meddlesome brats who continually messed with his work. The worst part was they didn't even know they were doing it.
Maybe at first Lex didn't know how to feel, but thinking about it really did make him kind of angry. And he didn't like to be angry. Being angry always led to mistakes. Mistakes they simply couldn't afford. Especially in this stage of planning.
That's why as he traversed the Injustice League headquarters and headed towards the meeting room he had to think. What to do with them?
Now any other random group of nobodies Lex might say dispose of them. Immediately even. And while they certainly had the firepower to do so, killing the children of Justice Leaguers. And not just any leaguers but Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman…Well it wasn't on Lex's list of great ideas.
Even then the hope was that they'd be strong enough to take on any Justice League, in any universe anywhere. But an angry League would make dumb mistakes. And a mistake for them would be something like letting a pissed off Superman kill the Injustice League. Definitely not on Lex's list of great plans.
But the kids needed to go, So how would they go about it? The doors in front of Lex opened automatically in an instant and he was met with his comrades. This new iteration of the Injustice League.
"Glad you could finally join us." Grodd mumbled, and Lex didn't bother answering him, instead taking his seat in front of the table.
With him were Cheetah, Black Manta, Gorilla Grodd of course, Scarlett Savage, and Morgaine Le Fay. They were missing a member but they were a formidable group. Smaller than usual but they preferred it this way.
Plus Lex was certain with this topic on hand once again, their other teammate would definitely join the party.
"Let's begin." Lex started coldly "A year and a half ago we made an allegiance. Seven of us agreed in principle that it would be a wise decision to begin to work together after our interests started to align. 2 or so months later Project Black Obsidian was put into motion. It started off very successful, with missions in California, Atlantis, and the Himalayas. It wasn't until October of last year when things began to go wrong. We all know that these three are the reason for that."
As he spoke, a picture of Robin, Superboy, and Fury lit up the room, they were in the middle of fighting Morgaine and her family.
"It started with Intergang. From my understanding poor instructions and terrible timing led to Superboy discovering our attempted disposal of Morgan Edge. This led to him destroying much of Intergang. A recuperation of our weapons and assets wasn't possible as Superman returned and did a much more thorough job of killing off Intergang. Savage...This was your op."
The woman didn't say anything and instead gave Luthor a very cold stare, but the bald man was not backing down.
"Next was the Court of Owls and our business with the being Harvest. We had made a huge investment into the villain who claimed with enough materials he could simply produce metahumans. And over time he proved that he could indeed induce the metagene. Somehow Robin, The Boy Wonder caught onto this and began to unravel the organization at the seams. Eventually he and his friends managed to take outHarvest, and every bit of information pertaining to his work leaving us with limited metas, despite the hefty price we paid for it. Grodd this is on you."
Grodd simply grunted. Not wanting to waste his time on Lex who clearly had an Agenda.
"Most recently, as far back as a couple of weeks ago the heroes did it again. The Eternity Book, a magical weapon that was supposed to allow us to further our Project. Instead the brutal, reckless, and idiotic killing of Janissary allowed the heroes to come back onto our trail. They defeated Morgaine and her subordinates and took the Eternity Book for themselves. Morgaine, that was all on you."
"I admit I trusted my son and daughter a little too much. But I am not a fool Luthor. I still managed to retain the spells needed for Black Obsidian."
"Yes, admittedly, you didn't entirely crash and burn like the rest. And that's useful. But the question still stands. Half of you failed at your job. Why should I continue to even invest in Black Obsidian anymore?"
"Because we have a deal." Manta immediately spoke first "Last time I checked I held the end of my deal. I've taken what was needed from Atlantis, I've held off on several of my own plans because of this Project Obsidian. Cut ties now, and I will not be happy."
"Fair enough." Luthor admitted "You did hold the end of your bargain, so I wouldn't mind reimbursing you for your services. The rest of you however have proven to be nothing short of useless. Why should this continue?"
"Now hold on. I haven't done anything either." Cheetah instantly added in "I was told I would be needed as "muscle". Not my fault if things haven't gone the way you imagined Lex."
"Obviously I don't need to hear from you. I'm addressing our three mistakes on the other end of the table."
Grodd was clearly irritated by that, but understood that he needed to be careful at the moment before Luthor pulled the plug on the entire operation.
"Do you all remember what Black Obsidian is about? The potential this project has?" Grodd started "Maybe you need a bit of a refresher."
"Black Obsidian, a 3 stage plan incorporating Lex and I's genius to begin a backend assault on the league and the entire world at large. Starting with the Seal of Clarity allowing us to decipher the secrets of the Apokoliptian texts we are basing Obsidian on. An army of Metas created for us by Harvest, something that should have netted us thousands of human shields to throw at our enemies. Of course there was the magical aspect. Morgaine spells were expected to weld obsidian together in a powerful near unstoppable bind, as well as keep our army easily sated."
"These people we control aren't just meant for fighting either, they will integrate into society, each and every person they connect with will be turned to our side, but subtly. In a way that cannot be questioned. The ultimate way of securing power in this world legally, and after that we rise."
"Black Obsidian itself is an Apokoliptian viroid. A cancer stemming from the ashes of Darkseid's planet. Normally deadly and impossibly unstable on Apokolips citizens, a simple lab accident allowed Luthor and I to discover maybe the most potent mind-controlling agent mankind has ever seen. But it's more than that Obsidian-
"Blah, Blah, Blah, Obsidian, Blah, Blah, Mind Control…I want to get to the real fun. Don't you Lex?" A new voice called from the doorway.
Lex couldn't help the frown on his face as the pasty clown entered the meeting room, he noticed how Cheetah, Grodd, and even Manta tensed up at the man's presence. It seemed Joker's presence made even the strongest meta's uncomfortable. A feat in itself.
"Joker. Glad to have you."
"Oh and I'm glad to be here. At least I was...then I heard fuzzy talking about subsidiaries or whatever it was."
"Black Obsidian. Our Project." Grodd grunted angrily at the Joker "If you're done now, I'll continue."
The Joker looked around before shrugging and taking a seat, the flimsy grin finally leaving his lips as he began to get serious.
"Thank you. As I was saying. Obsidian wouldn't be valuable without it's trigger. With the right amount of XrLZ released into the air, we can trigger a transformation within each and every host affected by Obsidian, weaponizing people even further. Abilities near the level of Superman. You really want to give that up, Lex?"
Those in the room turned from Grodd to Luthor waiting on his response and he didn't disappoint "Grodd. I never asked why I should continue with Obsidian. I asked why I should continue working with you?"
"You can't be serious Luthor. Without me Obsidian isn't even a thing!" Grodd exploded on him "Things have progressed at a quick rate because of you AND me. My natural Telepathic abilities are invaluable Luthor and you know it. You can't just create telepathy."
At this Luthor smirked, because if he wanted to he probably could create telepathy. But he knew Grodd made fair points "Relax Grodd...I just like seeing you squirm. Despite our lowered numbers, and Savage and Morgaine's mishaps. Things are nowhere near over."
"So what needs to be done?" Manta questioned
"What needs to be done is tightening up. At one point we thought we might have hundreds of Obsidian users instead we will just have a couple. As Grodd conveniently forgot to mention that Obsidian has only worked on Metahumans with active genes. Humans have been shown to die...fairly quickly. That lessens this...army quite a bit, until we can figure out how to lessen the potency of the virus."
"Which shouldn't be hard. We've already made strides. We have this in the bag. All this should easily bolster your presidential campaign."
"And then we get our cut." Cheetah said with the first smile she sported all day.
"Yes, then you get your cut." Grodd gave an evil grin back.
"Alright, we're all on the same page. It still leaves the question. What do we do with the three sidekicks."Lex questioned the table.
"Isn't it obvious Lex? We kill them." Cheetah told him "You may not like it, but they are bad for business. We can't let them keep messing around with our things. They are three little heroes. If you want me to take them all out I can."
"That doesn't seem smart." Manta was the first to speak "I know for a fact that if the King's son was to ever be touched, let alone killed they would be hunted for the rest of their days. I have no reason to believe Superman or Wonder Woman or Batman wouldn't behave the same way."
"Agreed. We need a different solution. It would be foolish to get the League's attention so easily." Grodd agreed.
"I'm going to be honest. I'm feeling disrespected." Joker admitted, and he genuinely looked annoyed which was throwing the others off a bit "Have you all forgotten who beat the brakes off the Bat's little bird years ago? I killed the little pest and I would like you to know that life has been just great."
"Now the rest of you can fear the wrath of the Justice League, but I do not follow the normal rules. Now Lexykins I haven't asked for much, and this will benefit everyone in the room. Let me take care of the kiddies. They don't even have to know any of you are involved. All I ask is for the use of your little villain network."
"Really?"
"Yes. When they die, I want the League to know I did it." the Joker told them cruelly. And how could Lex say no to the proposal? Allow the Joker to take control of his little problem, which would give him time to work on Obsidian, and further other parts of the plan. It would also allow him to worry less about Joker who had been the unpredictable wildcard wanting to join this team
"Alright."
"Great."
"If you pull this off-
"When I pull this off." He corrected Cheetah with a glare.
"When you pull this off, You know the League is going to come for you right? They might genuinely try to kill you."
"BWAHAHAHAHA! KILL ME?" The Joker questioned through fits of giggles "Maybe you should be the Joker."
"I'm serious. The most I've ever seen Wondy mad was when it came to the brat."
"Oh Barbara you're so foolish, don't you understand I'm untouchable." He questioned all laughter suddenly gone from his voice. It was unsettling just how quick he could move from laughing psycho to serious serial killer.
"Untouchable how?" Cheetah asked clearly unnerved
"Silly girl, Batman won't let them kill me." And with that, the Joker got up and began to leave "I've spent too much time here already. Expect a call from me Lex."
They all watched the Joker leave and Lex could only sigh, "Meeting adjourned." He was taking a sizable gamble, hopefully it paid off.
TRINITY
"Soooo, if they put that tiny 3 before the square root then I should divide the equation first, right?"
"What? Jeez, that is not how you do that at all."
"Yeah, gonna be honest I barely listen in Ms. Kay's class and even I know you don't do it like that Lyta."
"Well if you guys are so smart, then why don't you come help me then!" Lyta questioned, annoyed with Robin and Superboy.
"Can't, busy in Gotham." Came Damian's curt reply.
"Sorry Lyta. There's a bank robbery going on right now on Fifth avenue." Superboy explained right after. This just caused Lyta to sigh, and nearly snap her pencil in frustration. When was she ever going to need this stuff anyway!?
"Maybe I'll just call Mary then, she always makes time for me." Lyta grumbled, surprisingly this actually caused Damian and Jon to laugh.
"Pfft, you go do that." Robin said after the laughter subsided, and even then he and Jon couldn't help the snickers that continued to slip out.
"Yeah Lyta, if that's what you want I mean, go ahead." Jon added, afterwards there was the distinct sound of gunshots bouncing off of steel, which was more than likely just Superboy.
"Yeah okay, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Seriously, everyone knows you would rather spend time with us, even when we're not even there."
"Yeah, I mean we are like your bestest, only friends." Jon pointed out, and once again the two active heroes began laughing.
"Only fri-I-I have friends other than you two!" Lyta insisted
"I count one."
"Samesies."
"Please don't not ever say 'samesies' again."
"I mean I'll try buddy, but no promises."
Lyta on the other hand was ignoring Jon and Damian's banter for the moment and was still angry at the insinuation that she only had one other friend than those two idiots.
"What about…Tiffany?" Lyta pointed out, it was so obvious from her tone of voice that she was feeling smug about naming her.
"Seriously Tiffany. Have you even talked to Tiffany since that History project we did?"
"We've talked in the hall on numerous occasions."
"Come on, that doesn't count. Everyone knows hallway convos don't count." Robin explained with a laugh.
"Right it's Lunch, In class, or after-school. Anything else is forgotten by the end of the day." Jon added in.
Once again the two boys began laughing and Lyta was left seriously annoyed. She had other friends. Or at least she could have had other friends if she felt the need for them. She never thought she was going to get teased by Jon and Damian for it.
"Well maybe if you guys think I need more friends, I'll just leave you two alone, how does that sound?"
"Awww you don't mean that Lyta!"
"It's just a joke."
But the damage had already been done. The Wonder Girl had turned off her communicator and muted the annoying voices for the moment she was not happy with them.
"Haha, you think we went too far?"
"No chance." Damian scoffed, "She'll come right back once she realises that we don't have many friends either."
"That's true. Well I think I'm going to turn in. See ya tomorrow Robin." Jon told the Boy Wonder, he waited for a few moments and frowned when he didn't get a response.
"Robin? Rob, are you still there? Don't tell me you went on mute just cause Fury's gone."
"..."
"Rob, buddy? Huh, maybe he really did do that." Jon said to himself as both friends had now deserted him.
Still Robin wouldn't usually just ignore so he stopped his flight back to his house and instead began to focus on a particular heartbeat he had grown to know very well. He nearly had a panic attack when he felt it and how slow it was going.
His first instinct was to fly to Fury's house, thankfully they were both in Metropolis so it wasn't too far away. He flew around the building and knocked on her room window where he knew she'd be studying.
"Go away Superbo-
"Fury we have to hurry, Robin is in trouble!" Superboy cut her off. In an instant, Fury had her sword, shield, and Lasso ready to go.
"Come on then, lead the way! You can tell me what happened while we get there."
"That's the thing Fury I don't know what happened! One moment he was there and then suddenly he's not responding."
"Were you able to hear anything, signs of struggle or something?"
"No he went silent but…I don't think this is one of his normal Robin tricks. This one is different."
For the moment that caused Fury to stop flying. And so quickly Jon stopped flying too, but they were on the clock and needed to hurry.
"What's the hold up Fury, we gotta get our guy, he's in trouble!"
"Well it's just…if you're so sure then don't you think we should tell Batman?" Lyta pointed out, and she had a good point honestly.
"Well I mean maybe…But you see there was this one time all of Robin's vitals disappeared and I told Batman and my Dad and it turns out he was just investigating something and he slowed his heart rate with this pill thingy…so maybe…we shouldn't?"
"Superboy!" Fury hissed, and now it was her turn to be annoyed.
"What?"
"Seriously, first you tell me it's not one of his regular tricks, and now you're telling me it very well might be? Pick one because we are wasting time!"
"Okay, okay sorry! Let's just…let's go and check it out, just so Robin isn't too mad if we show in the middle of one of his operations."
"Okay then let's go, lead the way." And so the Robin rescue mission was back underway. The heroes headed into Gotham and tried to be as discreet as possible, but it wasn't easy considering they were simply following Robin's heartbeat and all the lead in the city made it hard for Jon to know what to look out for.
Eventually after a few minutes the two heroes found themselves in front of a rather large and abandoned carnival site. If Fury had to guess she would say it was recently abandoned. Like in the last five years or so.
The place was definitely very creepy. Everything was partly damaged. From something as simple as those rigged basketball games, to the ring toss, and the game where you had to splash those little targets.
The worst thing definitely had to be the fact that some of the prizes that you would normally win were sitting there. Looking at the stuffed animals, you would think you were playing Five Night at Freddy's. Superboy thought he almost saw the stuffed bear's eyes move but…That wasn't possible, right?
"Whe-where should we go next?" Lyta asked Superboy warily. She had unsheathed her sword and had her shield at the ready
"I…I'm not too sure. I can feel his heartbeat but somehow it's like…It's like it's everywhere around here. I couldn't tell you where to go exactly. Can't see much either."
It wasn't very helpful and he knew that but he had gotten them this far. Now Lyta realized she might be better off taking the lead. She took a step forward and instantly the sound of machinery winding up hit the hero's ears.
They turned and saw one of those large merry go-rounds light up and some creepy carnival music began to play. Honestly what made it worse was when the little horses on the merry go-round began to move as the machine fully lit up Superboy and Fury realized there were bodies on the merry go-round.
The looked like they were hugging the ride for dear life and it made sense as their bodies were clearly lifeless, one fell to the ground and the heroes actually stepped back in slight horror as they noticed the smile permanently etched on the the womans face, a ring of blood around her lips to make it seem like she was some sort of clown.
The rest of the people on the merry-go-round were in the same situation, all of them dead with smiles on their faces, you didn't have to be a Gotham Native to know this was the work of the Joker.
"What are we going to do?" Superboy found himself asking Fury, it felt like she was holding up much better than he was.
"I do not know…Maybe we should turn back."
"Oh no, please don't do that. The fun hasn't even started yet!" The Joker's voice boomed over the intercom system.
It was grating. As he spoke some interference went through the microphone system. It was so loud and specific Superboy had to believe it was made to try and throw him off.
"Joker!" Lyta snarled, and looked up to the sky, hoping that the Joker realized they were deadly serious. "Your silly games are going to end here."
"Oh no my dear, I'm afraid my games haven't even started yet."
"You killed those people. What gives you the right!" Jon demanded
"Seriously kid, I'm the Joker, it's my shtick." The voice boomed rather blandly. Then he laughed for a few moments before his voice took a very cruel tone to it "I'm not the Riddler, or Penguin or whatever else C-List losers you two are used to dealing with. So maybe your little friend was right. Turn around now before you get into something you really aren't ready for…Though I can't guarantee the survival of your little Robin friend if you do."
This only steeled the heroes resolve "Your gonna wish we did turn around clown!" Lyta insisted "Where's Robin!"
"Oooo, feisty. I do like that. But I'm afraid I won't be telling you, after all, where's the fun in that? Having fun figuring that out…you better be quick, if I get bored I might just go ahead and clip the little Robin's wings. Maybe I will anyway. Ta ta."
Right when the voice left Fury began moving and checking out all the carnival games, and dragged Superboy with her "Come on, if I understand the Joker he's a dumb clown who thinks he's funnier than he really is. The answer is going to be in one of these stupid games."
"If those other games are anything like the merry-go-round then I don't think I want to play." Superboy muttered but he went along anyway.
They found themselves playing many games and getting annoyed by many menial tricks. Tossing down the milk bottles earned them a powerful electric shock. Doing the ring toss had emitted a bunch of different killer robots, of course with a clown motif. They were particularly annoying. They couldn't really beat the two heroes but they had been designed to be as annoying as possible. Seemingly only aiming for areas that really hurt and blew up when their structural integrity was too compromised.
Games like the Ring Toss, and the Free Throw game resulted in similar results, but things didn't truly get bad until they did the strength test.
Superboy stepped up and slammed the mallet and it hit the bell and of course he was immediately given his prize as green mist rained down on the heroes. Fury seemingly wasn't affected but Jon immediately attempted to hold his breath. Of course it was useless as the Kryptonite Gas had already begun to enter his system.
"We should of-Ack-Known!" Superboy had a coughing fit, he dropped to one knee and Fury tried to do her best to help him but there wasn't anything she could do as Jon slowly lost his powers.
"None of these games were winnable. Not really. They all gave us a terrible prize, and wasted our time. The games aren't fair." Fury said in slight realisation.
She barely had time to pull her and Jon out of the way of a blast of green energy. "That's because like any good carnival girly, the games are rigged." In front of them was Metallo, blaster at the ready.
"Superboy. You have to get up, fly away." Lyta tried to tell him inconspicuously. However it was obvious to Metallo and he simply laughed "It's kryptonite. Or for some reason do you not know how that works?"
More green mist poured from almost out of nowhere and Fury was just fast enough to move Superboy out of the way. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not affected by Kryptonite!"
"Oh what your friend got hit with, that was Kryptonite. That new stuff though…Not Kryptonite I'm afraid."
"What?" It was like the instant Metallo had pointed out that what she had unknowingly inhaled wasn't Kryptonite gas, her vision began to blur. It faded in and out and everything began to move like a horror movie.
Everything straight up began to fade around her. Metallo was moving at incredible speeds that she couldn't do anything about. Instead he was in her face and he opened his metallic maw and let out an inhumane screech that chilled her to the bone.
However she was lucky enough to punch him straight off her "Not sure why you think this will change anything. Whatever tricks you're playing won't stop me from destroying you."
She shot towards Metallo and threw a punch, but unexpectedly it went straight through him. She turned around and saw that Metallo wasn't there anymore. Rather it was Robin. Or more accurately his mangled form
He was in the middle of the carnival ground, his prone form just laying there. His mask was still on but that permanent long smile they had seen on those civilians was now on his face. There was blood all around him and most of his bones were broken.
"Robin!" She dropped her sword and shot towards the boy and began checking for a pulse, but wasn't able to find anything.
"Superboy, get help! Quick!" She called to the hero but there was no response, she could only hope he hadn't met the same fate. "Robin please, you have to be okay." She tried every trick she knew and attempted to heal the boy with her lasso, but to her disgust it wasn't working.
At this point she was crying freely, not sure what to do. "Please Robin…" Suddenly there was a Krtch! And his neck snapped but his head wasn't exactly the right way but it didn't stop Robin from speaking.
"Maybe I'd still be alive if you did your job Fury!" Robin yelled at her. His snarl was ferocious and Lyta moved slightly away from him
"No please don't say that, we were trying to get you out of here!"
"Trying to get me out? Batman would have gotten me out, why didn't you call him! Why Lyta WHY!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry isn't good enough." Robin spat at her, he then turned at cruelly and grinned "And you thought I could ever love an idiot like you!"
"What you-you know?" Lyta questioned suddenly fearfully for entirely different reasons "I-I thought-"
"What, you didn't think I'd notice the obvious way you fawn over me? I did. And I don't know how you ever got it in your head we could be something. I hate you…you disgust me."
"But..we're friends aren't we?"
"You fit mine and Superboy's needs at the right time. Don't get it twisted we could have had anyone do what you do. You aren't very useful. You're not my friend Lyta and I couldn't and won't ever love someone like you."
"He's right Lyta. This is your fault." Lyta turned and was shocked to hear the words coming from this new voice.
Her mother was standing there and had a very disapproving tone to her words. Despite that Lyta ran to her, believing comfort was around the corner only to be met with a firm backhand.
"Don't touch me." Wonder Woman snarled, clearly disgusted. "You're an embarrassment."
"Mother please!"
"My biggest regret. I should have never let you leave the Island, Now you've come to Man's world and embarrassed me!"
"But-
"It's your fault Robin's dead!" Wonder Woman cut her off harshly "Always remember that." Then she thrust out her hand for Lyta to take "Now come on, we're going back to the Island."
"No-My friends I-
"They aren't your friends, they want nothing to do with you. Now come on! Now!" When Lyta refused to move again, she was met with another slap.
Then Wonder Woman tried to hit her again, but she dodged and hit her Mother back, and she froze when she felt her Mother's neck snap with relative ease.
"I...I, I didn't think that was going to happen." Lyta whispered to herself, everything was wrong and on a subconscious level she felt like she somewhat knew that, but she couldn't deny what her eyes were seeing.
What do I do? For the moment she sat in the middle between Robin and her mother's bodies attempting to figure out a solution to save the two heroes who were now dead because of her.
"Honestly I'm impressed. Most can't hold on for this long." Came a new voice, this one she immediately was Joker as she turned the clown was right behind her.
I've been pumping you with Gas for the past 5 minutes and the fact that you're still standing is quite the feat bravo!" Joker said with a smile, it almost seemed genuine and he applauded her before sneering. "But this ends now."
She had seen the swing of the crowbar, and in a normal instance was sure she could have dodged it, but it seemed she was a little slower than she realized the crowbar cracked against her forehead and she slumped to the ground immediately.
"Brat." Joker spat at her crumpled form. He was almost beginning to think this was slightly more trouble than it's worth. Now that he had them though he was about to get his money's worth, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it.
TRINITY