Adeline
'Okay, now if I were a jet-tail that flew off of the body in the Bermuda Triangle, connected to a parachute, carried off by the tides of the Atlantic, where would I be?'
Now before you yell at me "It probably sunk!", it can't. The Invisible Jet has flotation devices stored in it at just about every angle, just in case of something like this happening.
There is a code needed to deactivate them, again, in case of emergency. Say if an enemy were to spot it floating about. The last thing we need is someone like Joker being able to use invisibility tech.
As the soft ocean breeze hits my face, and the seemingly endless blue ocean rushes underneath me, I faintly spot a flash of orange in my peripheral vision.
I slow to a stop in the sky, and whip my head around in attempt to spot it again.
'Got 'cha!' I inwardly exclaim, zipping over to the wreck.
'Sweet baby Zeus…' I cringe, pulling up the large nylon parachute, revealing the broken, battered, ripped, shredded tail of the jet. 'Mom won't let me take the jet ever again when she gets back!'
I scowl, and frown at the flickering appearance and disappearance of the jet.
'Okay, first thing's first, tie it up, and drag it along,' I decide, planning out my moves.
I undo my lasso from my waist, and begin to attempt a hogtie on a jet tail.
Once I accept that it's not about to get any better, I wrap the end of my lasso around my waist, and begin to haul it back to the nose, where Skotádi awaits.
'Speaking of Sko, what was that back there?' I wonder, feeling the tail yank on my torso in the ever changing currents. 'Since when can Sko summon anything? Did he learn that from Han? And where is he?! Is he in trouble? Why did Jeong answer Han's call? What happened while I was gone? How long has it been? A few weeks at the most. What could possibly have happened in a few weeks? And why isn't anyone answering the Hall? And the Watchtower?! What is going on?!'
The tail makes large waves in it's wake as I drag it through the sea, my torso taking the toll of doing so.
'This is heavy, even for me!' I complain, trying to alternate my positions so that I wouldn't be in too much pain later.
'I wonder if Jeong is with Sko already?' I wonder. 'Well, Sko'll let him know I'll be back soon enough. He's a Dragon, he'll figure out a way to tell him.'
My mind eases my subconscious, however, deep in the pit of my stomach, I can't help but feel a sense of uneasiness arise as my eyes search the horizon.
What for? I'm not entirely sure. My sense of direction is pretty solid, as most Amazon's are, yet something keeps telling me that something is coming, from the edges of my sight.
'Come on, I'm in the middle of the Ocean. Anything that comes my way, I'm sure I can handle it,' I attempt to ease myself once again.
Later than I had hoped, I finally reached the nose of the Jet.
Sko had been napping, but once he felt the wake of the tail rock the nose, his eyes snapped open.
"Hey bud," I smile wearily at the Dragon. "Hercules, Sko… this thing is heavier than it looks."
I begin to fasten parts of the tail back to the nose, ripping apart the parachute to form a few makeshift stretch cords, punching holes through the floors of the jet to tie them through.
"Princess?" A soft, accented voice asks from behind me.
My heart rate jumps at the sudden voice, adrenaline returning to my bloodstream as I scream in shock.
In my shock, I lose balance on my feet, and fall over into the cold water of the Atlantic.
I emerge from the ocean just about as fast as I fell in, the pink haired from of Jeong reaching down to give me a hand.
"Sorry," He apologizes sheepishly, pulling me back up onto the shredded Jet.
"Ya'll magicians need to work on this thing called 'softly announcing your presence'," I pout, wringing out my braided hair.
"I'm afraid Hwan is the only other option at the moment, and I doubt you want him to pick you up," Jeong retorts.
"He'd never let me forget about it," I snort in agreement.
"So, would you care to tell me what happened here?"Jeong inquires, his dark eyes assessing the damage.
"If I knew, I would tell you," I reply, wiping salt water from my eyes. "Some large black mass came out of nowhere, coming at just about K.F's speed, and it slams into my windshield, slides off the side of the jet, and takes a turbine with it. I tried to slow our descent by engaging the parachutes, but we were going to fast, and it ripped the tail off. As you see, I got it back, but now we can't get back to the mainland."
"Yes, leaving it here would be unwise," Jeong nods, leaning off of the side of the nose, inspecting the lost wing.
"Did you see anything else?" He inquires. "Eyes? Body structure?"
"Just big, dark eyes. Oh! But something freaky was going on with my radio. This loud screeching sound was just blaring louder and louder as it got closer. Sko could hear it too. He was shaking his head, and whining and everything," I explain. "Whatever it was, it's probably dead now. I did hit it pretty hard."
"I'd say it hit you harder," Jeong states, his eyes widening at the nose of the jet.
My brows furrow as I fly around to the front, my skirt sticking uncomfortably to my thighs with the dampness of the water.
"Holy Hera," My eyes widen as they inspect the very tip of the jet.
The entire nose was dented inward, like someone had the biggest hammer ever, and just went to town on the Jet.
"Mom's not gonna be happy with this at all," I frown.
Jeong had managed to contact Hwan, giving him the green light to help us back to the mainland. However, since the size of the Jet is bigger that Hwan's portals, we had to take it in by cutting the halves into halves. Meaning the Jet is now on four pieces, still missing a turbine.
"We can have Seung put these pieces back together, but the turbine you lost…" Kyung begins to explain.
"Difficult to replicate," I finish. "Mom's gonna be so pissed…"
"We do have some good news though," Seung pipes up from examining the placement of the missing turbine. "I can try to make one similar to the one lost, invisibility included. However, I question whether or not my tech will be compatible with Amazonian tech."
"If you need, I can ask my grandmama if she knows what forces keep it together?" I offer.
"Too many questions would be raised," Kyung states, crossing his arms over his chest. "She would not willingly give us that information after our first impressions went awry."
"Got that right," Jeong snorts, leaning up against the nose of the jet.
"Well, for now, I can hammer the nose back out, and put these pieces back together, but it will take time," Seung reports. "More than we have, but I'll try to rush it."
"Don't wear yourself down too much," I sigh. "We need you all at top strength."
"Indeed," Jeong agrees. "Especially after that fiasco with Despero."
"Whoa, what fiasco, with the what now?" I scowl, rewinding the conversation.
Seung cringes at the reveal on Jeong's part.
"Despero," Kyung sighs. "He's an intergalactic gladiator in search of the perfect opponent. He attacked the Hall of Justice, and those who resided in it after the fall of Mount Justice."
"The Hall is in shambles. Everything is destroyed," Jeong bluntly explains.
'Are you kidding me?!'
"So let me get this straight," I growl. "I was gone for a few weeks, and The Hall of Justice, our secondary H.Q, was absolutely obliterated?!"
"That's not all…" Hwan cringes.
"Enlighten me then," I snarl.
"Well… the Reach exposed themselves to the world before we could, and they opened themselves to us as 'friend seekers'..."
"Please tell me that the UN didn't actually buy that," I plead.
"I'm just going to stay silent then…" Hwan answers.
I throw my hands in the air, and begin to pace the large garage.
"This is literally the exact reason I can't go on vacations," I begin. "Where is Haneul? I need to calm down…"
"Ah-heh… About that-" Seung begins.
"DID YOU LOSE HIM?!" I shout at the brothers.
"We didn't 'lose him' per se-" Hwan tries.
"I can't leave this society alone for two weeks before things go up in flames!" I exasperate. "Where did he go?"
"We think he's in New Orleans," Jeong answers. "But we can't sense his magic anymore."
"Our magic has a certain reading, but if it's too low-" Hwan begins, pulling up his golden magic seeker.
"Or we're low on energy," Kyung interrupts.
"-We can't find each other." Hwan concludes.
"So he's not okay?" I clarify.
"He's low on energy," Jeong states. "He's not dead, but if he were, we'd all feel it."
'But where is he?' I wonder. 'Where is he going? Why is he going?'
"Adeline, I think it's best if you recover," Jeong states, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"What? No," I scowl, shaking my head. "I came back because the world needs me. And as far as I'm concerned, Han is my world. I'm not taking a day off because of some Dementor crashing into my jet."
"I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in so much stress," Kyung tries to deter me. "Especially because you've just returned."
"I've returned from an enlightening trip from home," I argue. "I'm ready for a fight."
"Then I'm sorry to say it, Adeline, but we are not allowing you on this search," Jeong frowns.
"I wish you would try to stop me," I growl out a warning.
"For your own safety-"
"My safety is no concern of yours," I interrupt. "Haneul needs me. I'm not going to let him down because I'm a little tired."
"Under his own wishes, stay out of this," Jeong glares down at me.
"His wish is lame," I retort. "He is the one I love. I am not letting someone else save him when I am perfectly capable of doing so!"
"I'm afraid we can't let you do that," Hwan shakes his head, making his snowy hair ruffle.
"Then I'm doing this without you," I snarl, turning to storm out of the room. "But you can't stop me."
"You don't know what you're up against!" Seung tries.
"Because that's not like literally every other mission we get," I snort, glancing back over at the golden-brother-locator, memorizing the coordinates of Han's last tracked location.
I shake my head in aggravation, and exit the room, anger and determination set in my eyes.
'When I find you, Han, you are in so much trouble,' I assure him through thought, not knowing how I'll find him.
New Orleans
'Recognized, Wonderbat: B-00,' The robotic voice announces as I step out onto the streets of New Orleans.
The sound of the city is the first thing that hits me.
The sounds of classic, upbeat horns, and piano fill my ears as the Jazz parades march down the cobblestone streets. The smells of southern Cajun food fill my nasal canals, sending signals down to my tastebuds and making my mouth water and salvate.
'New Orleans… it's beautiful... I'd live here if there weren't so many drunks sleeping on the streets,' I inwardly remark as I spot three men passed out on a bus bench, smelling of old rum.
I glance around at my surroundings, hoping to recognize a street name, but the thing is, the only other time I've been to Louisiana is when Doctor Fate went missing.
'I know Han has safe houses, but I don't know where…' I frown, glancing around me. 'Okay, Addie, think. Han has probably been here multiple times. If you were Haneul, where would you hide? Okay, easy. He's a magician, so he can hide in plain sight. So I'd hide somewhere so obvious, that it's not obvious.'
I scowl at my surroundings.
'Okay… where is Obvious in New Orleans? You'd think these guys would remember seeing an Asian man with bright red hair and glowing blue eyes, but Han isn't stupid. He knows that he sticks out like a sore thumb… So where could he be…?' I wonder.
The music of New Orleans seems to stop as the voice in the back of my head begins to pipe up.
'Where did you two first meet?' It asks.
'New Orleans…' I answer
'And where was that again?' It goads.
'Fate's Tower… Could he be…?' I begin to realize, picturing the abandoned theater across from Fate's Invisible tower.
'Worth a shot…?' I shrug, making sure that my place was in the shadows away from the prying eyes, before I take off into the night skies in search of my love.
My knees hit the ground with a loud rumble, announcing my presence to Fate's Tower.
'Fate may not be home, but that doesn't matter,' I assure myself. 'I can almost feel it… Han is here… It's like a magnet in my gut, finding it's other half…'
I glare up at the invisible tower, knowing that if Fate were up there, he'd expect some sort of narcissistic praise if I considered asking him for help.
No, I'd rather do this alone. I don't need some possessive god to give me assistance in rescuing Haneul.
My eyes fall over to the theater across from Fate's Tower.
It's worn down, that's for sure. The letters of the Theater are worn out. At one time they might have been red, but they've since faded to a dark brown color, chipping here and there. Every entrance is boarded in attempt to deter unwanted guests. But I notice a few boards are out of place. There is space between a few near the bottom. Enough for someone bigger than me to crawl through.
'If not for Han, then for the sake of adventure,' I sigh, a heavy sense of foreboding weighing on my shoulders.
I decide to crawl through the boards, small pieces of my uniform snagging in the splinters as I slide through the narrow space.
The room is dark. I would presume it's because there are no street lights, and because the building has been shut down for over a decade or two. But as I step further into the dark, my lasso and cuffs begin to glow a dim yellow. Not enough to be like a flashlight, but more like a dim glow of a lantern or candle.
'They've never done this before…?' I scowl at the metal. 'I can't focus on that. I need to find Han.'
'Then what?' That dark part of my mind pipes up again as I slowly walk down the hallway leading to the stage. 'You didn't bring anything that can replenish his magic, or his energy. You don't even know if he's healthy enough for Zeta travel.'
'Listen here,' I growl at myself. 'He will be okay. He always is. He has to be. I will do everything in my power to make sure that the vision I had comes true. I won't let him die on me. He's not allowed to.'
'We live in a dark world, Adeline,' It replies as my steps echo lightly across the walls. 'Bad things happen to good people. Remember Tula? Or Garfield's mom? Or Artemis? How about Jason? And the Original Blue Beetle? And let's not forget Zatara's sacrifice, taking up Nabu's Helmet to save his daughter from the fate of never living her life? Bad things happen to everyone. It can happen to you.'
My hands reach for the worn down, flaky, golden bar of the theater door.
'So, Imma need for you to quit that talk. Thanks,' I roll my eyes at my subconscious. 'Han is going to be in there, and he's going to be okay.'
I steel my nerves as I swing the door open.
The theater looks like a classic auditorium for fancy people. The seats are a red velvet color with golden studs as a lining, but have since been eaten at by moths, and covered in a thick layer of dust. The room smells gross and moldy, but then again, it's an abandoned building in Louisiana. What else can you expect.
The air is cold, almost unbearably so, with a constant breeze coming from somewhere unseen by my eyes.
The stage is about four and a half feet off of the ground, the dark wood tearing off of some of the overhang.
But catching my attention on the stage wasn't the lack of architectural upkeep.
In the center of the stage, there lied a mass of black, with bright red hair peeking out from underneath a tan arm.
"Han!" I shout, my guard going down immediately as I fly myself over to his side at a record fast speed.
"Haneul! Han, it's me!" I shout at him as I land next to him.
I land on my knees as my hands lay on his side, flipping him over onto his back.
"Han, come on," I goad before his back hits the stage.
What I see, makes me scream in terror.
Han's skin isn't normal. Now it's more of a sickly grey, his veins underneath a dark blue almost black color. His eyes are closed, but that doesn't stop me from believing that they have lost their glow.
But what frightens me the most isn't his color, but the dark red blood seeping from his nose and mouth.
"HANEUL!" I scream, trying to shake him awake.
'Feel for a pulse, moron!' I shout at myself, trying to snap out of it.
I reach down to place my fingers on the side of his neck, trying to feel for anything. Any sign of life.
'Come on Han… show me something… you can't die just yet… I won't allow it…' I plead to the gods as tears begin to run down my face. 'This can't be happening… It can't…'
"Sucks, doesn't it?" A rough, yet soft voice inquire from behind me.
My head snaps around, my body immediately taking a defensive stance in front of Han.
My opponent should be a surprising one, but given our last encounter, he should know better than to come alone.
Floating above the audience, surrounded in an aura of yellow, and clad in a golden version of the forest green suit he once donned, is Nash Jordan: Former Green Lantern, and active criminal.
"Nash," I snarl. "You already took Artemis from me… Why him?!"
"Technically, Kaldur did that one, Add's," He sneers out a chuckle. "Good times though. Seeing you freak like that really made the whole 'beaten-within-an-inch-of-my-life' thing worth it."
Rage begins to build up in my chest as Nash dismisses my mental breakdown as 'funny'.
"You didn't answer me," I growl. "Why. Him?!"
"Chill, Add's," He says as if we're still friends. "He's not dead. Not yet, anyways."
'He better not be,' I glare up at Nash.
"No, but you see, he's just a little thief isn't he?" Nash begins slowly, cocking his head to the side. "This isn't the first time he's stolen from me, and I'm just here to make sure it's the last."
"Stolen? Please," I scoff. "Give me one good reason why I should believe anything you have to say."
"Says the liar," He retorts.
"What did I lie about to you?!" I shout angrily. "And why are you doing this?! Did Sinestro even introduce you to your mother yet?!"
"You don't have the right to ask that!" He roars at me. "And I don't have to explain myself to you."
"Then why are you here?!" I shout up to him, waiting for any opportunity to lash out at him.
"Because I have his precious little cure," He says, tossing his head back in laughter. "But is it a cure? Or is it his doom? I would love to know!"
I narrow my eyes up at him.
'Cure?' I question. 'Han isn't sick… I mean, he was back then but he… he never stopped looking… he didn't tell me…'
"And am I to believe he stole this?" I raise a sarcastic brow at Nash.
"Well, yeah," He snorts. "He had his little friend 'Constantine' take it for him up in London. I let him. False sense of hope is kinda my thing, ya know?"
I snarl at him as he floats closer to us, while readjusting my guard around Han's form.
"But hurting him, is hurting you, and honestly, that is my main goal here," He shrugs, twirling a green vile in his hands. "And I know what hurts you the most is your own little conflicted feelings. So I'm going to give you information on this cure. Kay~? So here's the thing, this little green thing will either replenish little ol' laughing noodle over there to his full strength, magic and physical and all! Or, his immune system could reject it entirely and incinerate him from the inside out."
"Why-"
"I'm getting to the 'why', Princess," Nash interrupts, landing lightly on the stage two feet from me.
'Just a little closer…' I inwardly goad him on.
"Why would it reject? Because of you," He coos. "And those little red gems on your cuffs. You see, those are the same little jewels that make up this little vial of Hulk-blood. Science. Weird stuff, I know. Haneul's been busy with you for over five years now, yeah? Being around you is his vaccination against the cure."
'Liar,' I snarl, biting my tongue just in case.
"So you can either give your love the antidote, and take your chances, or wait for him to die a slow, agonizing death!" He laughs, tossing me the vial.
I catch it easily in my hands.
"And the best part of it, you ask?" Nash inquires, puffing out his chest. "I get a front row seat to your next mental break down, but from the safety of my own home!"
'You will not break to this maniac,' I steel myself. 'Your family won't allow it.'
"Fun, isn't it?!" He laughs maniacally. "I can't wait. Especially for the part when you realize that spending your time near him, was just killing him instead! You killed your only romantic interest and you couldn't even stop yourself!"
"That's not true!" I deny.
"Sure it is!" He laughs. "And when you finally realize it, man, I can't wait to see who you'll direct your rage at! Maybe it'll be a team mate? Or better, maybe Nightwing? Or even better, the new Robin! HAHAHAHA!"
"I would never hurt them!" I shout at him, balling my fists.
"Ah, careful there, Princess~" Nash sings, pointing at my hands. "Wouldn't want to let your little boyfriend die now, would you?"
'The vial!' I remember, glancing back at Han. 'We have to leave now if he has a chance…'
"You and I aren't done with this," I snarl at Nash.
"I hope not," He smiles cruelly, his lip curling upwards in an evil manner.
He lifts his ring into the air, and slams it back down, taking off into the air, bursting through the old wooden planks of the roof and taking off into the night.
Once I'm sure he's gone, I swivel around, falling to my knees next to Han.
"It's okay hun," I comfort my passed out boyfriend as I lift his arm over my shoulder, and hoist him up. "I'm taking you home, okay?"
'Isn't there a Zeta nearby?' I try to remember. 'There should be one around the block… It's how we got here when we first visited Fate…'
"Okay, I'll admit, this might suck," I warn Han's sleeping form. "But I'm going to make it better okay? Okay. Let's do this."
I slip the vial into his back pocket so it doesn't fall out in flight.
"By the way," I begin again. "You are in so much trouble when we get back! I'm gone for a few weeks and you almost die?! I can't leave you alone for that long before you're suicidal?! Hercules, Haneul! This is why I constantly worry about you!"
I lift his arms further around me, taking off into the air, following after Nash's jet-stream, diverting my course when I deemed it necessary.
Again, perfectly good excuses here! 1, ya girl got nominated for Prom Queen! I got second place, but I still had fun! 2, yo, I had a respiratory infection, sinus infection and ear infection at the same time, so I was like, dying. 3, Ya girl also graduated wit Highest Honors! YAYS! 4, got accepted into college, and I'm going to be training as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter! 5, I just submitted a job application to become a lifeguard at a local pool! I'm gettin my ish together fam. 6, YO MY BOYS BTS MADE THE BILLBOARD AWARDS AND THEY FINE SELVES WON HOLY YAS LAWD. JIN BE WORKIN' HIS ISH, V BE STYLIN' HIS ISH, R.M BE ENGLISHIN' HIS ISH, BTS BE UP IN THIS ISH YO.
I still want to thank you all for the positive reviews! Still showing that in my absense you still all support the crap outta me, and I really appreciate all of the love!
Okay. Here's what you're really here for. The Responses!
Digilover23: Thank yous! I'm glad too, they turned out looking pretty awesome though ;) Hope you liked this chapter!
Luna Star Phantom: You sending me luck worked! lol! I hope you are feeling better now! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Guest 1: Aww! Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy it!
Guest 2: You're amazing! Thank you for the support!
Randomizee: PLEASE REVIEW. lol
Hope: I am totally trying to finish this! My updating schedule is kinda out of whack right now, but I'm trying to do better! I hope you enjoy Nash in this chapter! It gives you a better look at where his mind is right now, and fan-theories on what he might be planning/thinking O_o And yes, right now I'm super super busy, but I do add a bit on to my chapter each time I'm on my computer.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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Reviewers 95-100 get to chose a PG-13 rated prompt for W.B, and I will include them in my one shots at the end of the story! So don't forget to watch which reviewer you are!
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Voltron-3
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Voltron takes the lead! Don't forget to vote in the comments, or on the poll on my page for the next series I should write for! I've started at least a chapter for all of them, so It'd be quick to get out there!
-Gargoyle77