Monsters

Chapter 3: Rising Suspicions

It had been five days since Captain Marvel lost (and subsequently regrew) his arm. Everyone was still curious but had chosen not to bring it up after realizing that it did upset Cap (granted Black Canary and Batman had to point it out first but still) although they were all still worried.

Most everyone in the Watchtower was in the cafeteria either eating or swapping stories (both in Flash's case) when a bright light filled the room. Everyone shielded their eyes then quickly opened them when heard a loud tu.

Captain Marvel lay on the floor bleeding profusely. His left leg was gone and there were huge chunks of flesh missing from all over his body. Flash was the first to recover and he quickly ran to Captain Marvel's side, anxiously checking for any signs of life. He couldn't find any but remembered Captain Marvel had been like this just a few days earlier and had come out of it just fine.

"I called Batman," Green Lantern pared next to him, pressing Cap's already bloody cape against his wound. "He said he was on his way and that he would call Superman."

Flash nodded in approval. "Hopefully J'onn will show up soon cuz I don't I can carry him to the med-bay, at least not without some major help."

"I could probably do it," Green Lantern offered, forming a giant green hand with his ring. "Or not," he muttered when it fizzled out after touching Captain Marvel.

"Not again," J'onn sighed as he flew towards them. "Flash, make sure the way to the med-bay is clear and find some towels so we can staunch the bleeding while his leg grows back."

"On it," Flash disappeared then reappeared mere seconds later. "Everything's been take care of," he reported.

J'onn nodded in thanks and once again effortlessly picked up the large man and flew out of the cafeteria.

By the time Batman and Superman arrived Captain Marvel had been situated and J'onn was faithfully applying pressure against the slowly regenerating limb.

"What happened?" Batman demanded.

J'onn shrugged. "All I know is that he teleported into the cafeteria. Green Lantern tried to bring him in here but Ca[tain Marvel's lightning negated his power ring."

"Well it's a good way to defend himself," Superman pointed out with a frown. If Captain Marvel hadn't declared himself as magical when he joined Superman would have thought that he was a fellow Kryptonian, their physical similarities hadn't helped any. If nothing else, however, this situation had highlighted just how alone the two were (well Clark had his adopted parents) as Batman had confided that he had no clue who Captain Marvel was and his suspicions that there were no loved ones. It was a sad thought but not entirely unexpected since most of them had tragic backstories that had contributed to their careers as superheroes.

"I've had enough of this," Batman scowled. "I'm call an emergency meeting now."

"I need to stay here," J'onn looked up.

"That's fine, let me know when he wakes up," Batman turned and left the room, his cape swishing behind him.

"The same goes for me," Superman said before following Batman.

Even though it was in the middle of the afternoon it took less than an hour for everyone to gather. A few of them wore a mixture of regular clothes and their costumes as not everyone had somewhere to stow them at work. Batman didn't bother lecturing anyone as he knew it wouldn't do any good.

"What's this about?" Black Canary asked, adjusting her blue stockings, the only part she hadn't had time to change. "I was in a meeting."

"Same," Green Arrow sighed, "but I'm glad you called us. I thought I'd be there forever."

"I'm afraid this is very serious," Batman glared at the couple then pulled up the feed from the med-bay on the monitor so everyone could see it. "It appears Captain Marvel was attacked again and this time he's missing a leg."

"Do we have any theories on who could have done this?" Black Canary frowned.

Superman spoke up, his voice tight. "He said it was a demon but Batman, J'onn and I are positive he's not telling us the full truth."

"Do we have any proof?" Green Lantern asked, albeit hesitantly. He didn't want to question Batman or Superman (he didn't think of himself as suicidal) but someone had to and it might as well be him.

As expected Batman's eyes narrowed even further and his words were clipped as he all but growled, "Nothing definitive which is why I need everyone to keep an eye out. If there's something else at play here then we need to be ready."

Flash raised a hand. "Maybe we should ask another magic user," he suggested. "Like Zatanna or John Constantine. They might know more."

Batman growled. Literally. "I would sooner tell the Joker my real name then ask John Constantine for anything. I never want to hear that name again."

"Okay," Flash shrank down in his seat. "Sorry I brought him up."

"What about Zatanna?" Superman pressed. "She's not as bad as Constantine is."

Batman looked pained as he reluctantly admitted, "I haven't been able to locate her for several months now. I suspect she's not currently in this realm."

"Lovely," Flash sighed. "So basically you just want us to spy on Cap and hope he doesn't knock us out when he realizes what we're doing."

"Basically," Batman nodded.

The rest of the Justice League started at him for a moment then Green Arrow said, "If he gets mad I'm throwing you under the bus."

"Totally," Green Lantern agreed. "Are we done now? I've got stuff I really need to get done."

"Fine. Meeting adjourned."

In no time at all the room was empty save for Batman and SUsperman who remained seated, staring at the med-bay feed.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Superman finally asked. "I know I wouldn't be if I kept getting eaten even I did regenerate."

"I don't know," Batman shrugged. "I just don't know."

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far and please continue to do so as they motivate me to keep writing. I have not officially abandoned "The Marvelous Adventures of the SuperBat Family" but I did lose all my notes for it so if I can ever find them again I do plan on finishing it. If you have any ideas feel free to pass them on.