Intervention

Bludhaven

May 6

6:10 A.M

After zipping through the Zeta lines, I find my way to Dick's warehouse on the docks of Bludhaven.

'Artemis wasn't in the Underworld,' I recall the goddess of Spring telling me. 'Then she's alive. This is the only other way.'

The warehouse isn't anything special, if I'm being completely honest. It's not high tech like the cave, but more like a tricked out college dorm with much more space than an actual college dorm.

I lean up against one of the pillars that holds up a second 'floor' of the warehouse, waiting for the return of my brother.

'What am I even going to say to him?' I ask myself.

'Don't say anything,' I hear myself reply. 'Drag him out of the warehouse and demand answers. He can't keep lying to me.'

A loud alarm sounds throughout the warehouse as the central floor begins to open up.

'They're here~,' I sing in my head, watching as the Team appears from beneath the metal doors.

"Addie?!" Batgirl is the first to notice.

"Babs?!" I call back out in shock.

I practically tackle her with a large hug as she, and the rest of the missing team appear from the floor.

"I thought you guys were gone!" I recount, pulling away from her, moving to Robin, then Beast Boy.

"We were taken," 'Guardian' states. "I'll give you one guess as to who took us."

"Good thing I don't need to guess then," I nod over to him.

"What happened to your hair?" M'gann asks.

"Yeah, long story," I chuckle nervously. "No time. Right now-"

I storm over to Nightwing. He opens his arms in preparation for a welcoming hug, but receives no such luck.

I reach up to grab him by his earlobe.

"-We need to talk. NOW," I growl, pulling him down to meet my eyes.

"Addie!" Nightwing exclaims in pain, reaching over to my hand.

"I said now!" I order him.

I practically drag him to the nearest door, shoving him outside in the process.

"Oooh, she's mad," I faintly hear Wonder Girl cringe.

As the cool night air meets us, I slam the door behind me.

"Add's," Richard begins. "What's going on?"

"You tell me, Richard!" I shout at him. "Where is Artemis?!"

He tenses for a moment at my bluntness, knowing that if he even tries to get out of this with a lie, it could be his life on the line.

"Addie…" He sighs. "You know where... she's at Gotham cemet-"

"No!" I bark at him. "I haven't slept in 48 hours, my jet crashed into the Bermuda thanks to a flying demon, I had to go on an actual witch-hunt to find Han, only to have Nash of all people waiting there for me. And to save Han's life, I've been running pet errands for a goddess, and Dick, and I'm just not up for playing games right now! Tell me the truth! Cause she's not in the Underworld! I know, I checked! She's never been there, so before you open your mouth again, really think about how you want to answer, cause my fuse is incredibly short."

My chest heaves at the lack of air circulating through my lungs after my rant.

The cold night air whistles past us, playing in my newly shortened locks as Dick's baby-blue eyes hone in on mine.

A long sigh escapes his chest.

"Artemis… *sigh*... Artemis is Tigress…" He reveals. "I had Zatanna make a glamour charm so no one would recognize her as she infiltrated enemy lines."

'By the Gods Richard!' I want to scream.

"And you didn't think in necessary to tell anyone this?" I conclude. "Not even us? Who knew?"

"Wally, Kaldur, and now you and M'gann," He states.

"Kaldur?" I pause. "Kaldur is in on this?"

"He's been in on it since the beginning," Dick nods. "He never turned on us, Add's."

'So I nearly killed him for Artemis' death, when he never killed her, and she never died,' I summarize.

"I know what you're going to say-" He tries.

"Do you?" I sneer at him. "Do you really? Go ahead then, I'm dying to know!"

He frowns at me and my reluctance to listen to him.

"It was the only option, Addie," He pleads for my understanding. "M'gann didn't even know when she nearly fried his brain."

"Well I nearly fried his body, Dick!" I retort. "You saw what happened to me out there, and you didn't think it'd be wise to tell me that there was no need to freak like that?!"

"I know, I messed up-"

"Oh really?!" I growl.

"I made a lot of mistakes for this mission Add's," He tries, taking cautious steps towards me. "I don't plan on making them again. We're drawing closer to the endgame, I can feel it."

"And your 'feeling' is much more important than ours?" I retort.

I shake my head at this situation.

"Whatever. This is pointless," I sigh. "I want a debrief as soon as possible. I want to know everything starting from the moment I left to Themyscira, to right now."

"It won't be a quick conversation," He warns.

"I don't care, Richard," I exasperate. "I won't be left in the dark any longer."

"Yes ma'am," He nods.

I huff at him in annoyance, turning back to the door to the warehouse.

"Hey Add's," He calls out one last time.

I turn to face him wordlessly.

A warm smile break upon his face.

"It's good to have you back," He concludes.

"Yeah?" I shrug. "I figured you'd miss my constant nagging."

El Paso

June 13

2:05 A.M

"W.B to Batgirl," I report over the comms. "Blue sighted coming your way. E.T.A: 15 seconds."

The cool night air moves through the tree leaves, rustling softly in the background.

I observe the skies from the rooftop of some corporate building, laying in wait for our Beetle.

*Hours before*

"We need to get Jaime back," Impulse states. "We can't let him go dark! This is how the future turns out!"

"Whoa, what?" I question. "What about Jaime?"

Nightwing's fingers rub the bridge of his nose.

"A lot of things have happened since you've been gone, W.B," He sighs. "Impulse released to us, information on Earth in about 35 years from now. Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle, as well as the Reach, enslave the human race. Jaime is at the top of the food chain in the future."

'Great,' I sigh.

"So what are we going to do about it?" I question, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, we have a plan," Batgirl begins. "But you are going home to rest."

"Excuse me?" I raise a brow at her.

"You haven't slept in two days, W.B," Nightwing interjects. "You need sleep."

"Noted," I growl, turning away from him, back to M'gann. "So what are we going to do?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Babs and Dick share a worried look.

'Don't even think about it,' I inwardly growl. 'If being on the team for 5 years has taught me anything, it's that any mission takes days even weeks to plan. I'll be fine.'

Present day

'Oish, was I wrong,' I inwardly groan.

"Batgirl to W.B, affirmative," Batgirl answers back. "Target spotted."

"Be ready everyone,"I warn. "I know that this is Jaime. We all know him, we're all worried for him, but whatever is flying around right now is not Jaime."

"Target acquired," Batgirl confirms.

"Engage," I order.

Not even half a second later, I hear a metallic 'CLANK' signaling Batgirls temporary capture of Blue Beetle.

The long, iron-alloy cord clamps around his ankles, yanking him back in midair.

Batgirl pulls the cord around a stairwell on the roof of her own building, keeping him in place for as long as she can.

"Batgirl, what are you doing?" Beetle questions. "You know this won't hold us!"

"It'll hold for a couple seconds," She grunts, doing her best to keep the line straight enough for Impulse. "And a couple of seconds-"

"-Is all I need," Impulse finishes, zipping up the line faster than I think anyone can comprehend.

As Impulse reached Beetle, the line snaps, exactly as we knew it would.

Beetle takes off into the skies, Impulse on his back using his speed to vibrate through Blue's jet-pack, disrupting the molecules just long enough to send them both to the ground.

Impulse manages to catch himself on the next building over, speeding down the sides and to the ground safely.

Blue, on the other hand, much less graceful as he slams into the pavement below.

Batgirl lands in front of Blue Beetle with the grace of a ballerina, tossing a small marble under Blue's chin.

"Sweet dreams, Blue," She wishes, activating the sleep-gas.

The greenish-blue gas seeps out from the marble, engulfing the Beetle.

'Alright, time for some action,' I smirk.

We know that won't work on him.

This is just to get him agitated enough to lose focus. Once he loses focus, he won't see the trap.

Batgirl circles around Blue, eyeing the smoke wearily.

Suddenly, his signature, oversized staples come shooting out from his hands, effectively restraining Batgirl against a tree.

Impulse zooms behind Blue, knocking him off balance, back into the street.

Blue moves to sit back up, only to be knocked right back to the ground by his speedster friend.

Impulse sips around Blue, hoping to 'confuse' him, but again, we know how fast these Beetles can process.

Blue flops himself over onto his stomach, readying his loaded staple armory, calculating to fire at will.

He suddenly shoots upright, twisting around to shoot at Impulse.

Direct hit.

Impulse yelps as he is slammed into the brick wall of some corporate building, passing out as his head slams against the hard surface.

'Oi… that looked like it hurt,' I cringe at the sound.

After a moment of silence, Blue lifts his arms up over his head, materializing his curved blades from his hands.

'He wouldn't…' My eyes widen.

His blades scrape across the gravel ominously.

'Add's… Jaime isn't a murderer… no way that's him doing this!' I try to comfort myself. 'Even so… this is unnerving…'

Blue halts in front of Impulse, placing his blade beneath the speedster's chin.

He seems to back off for a moment, before raising his balde above his head.

"Now, Rocket!" I order.

Within a half of a second, a kinetic-blue bubble is formed around Beetle, causing his blade to bounce back.

He releases his control of his blades, switching to an arm mace, smashing it against the bubble.

'That's why we're in charge, Jaime,' I want to smirk.

Blue scowls in annoyance, dematerializing the mace.

"Zatanna, he's morphing!" I warn.

Zatanna steps out of the shadows, arms up and already with an incantation upon her lips.

Just as Blue forms the sonic gun, a secondary bubble forms around the first, this one more purple in color, bouncing back Beetle's sonic rays.

"I've reinforced Rocket's force bubble with my magics," Zatanna reports. "Blue's not going anywhere."

With another incantation, the Beetle-staples around Batgirl and Impulse disintegrate, releasing them from their capture.

I take my opportunity to jump down from the building.

The gravel nearly cracks under me as I land, my armored boots clanking together ominously.

"Take him away, ladies," I order over the comms, making sure that the team in Bludhaven is still in the loop.

"Good work team," Nightwing orders from the comms. "Batgirl, Rocket, Impulse, and Zatanna, continue on with the mission. Wonderbat-"

"Don't you do it-" I begin to warn over the comms.

"Your mission is to go home and rest," Nightwing finishes. "Your job here is done. You're a powerhouse, and soon we'll need all the help we can get. Go home. Get some rest. That's an order."

'Yeah, cause your orders have been so great the past few months,' I want to argue back, but decide against it.

'Come on Add's, he's right,' My rational side kicks in. 'You know you're feeling the weight of your non-existent sleep schedule.'

"Fine," I give in. "But you all swear to be careful. Don't let your guard down around him."

Batgirl cocks her hip to the side.

"You act like we haven't had a high-powered captive before," She smirks. "Go home, W.B. We're good here."

She's right. It's not like this is new to them. The team knows what they're doing.

I need to have some faith.

"Fine," I give in. "I'm gone."

"They what are you still standing around for?" Rocket urges. "Go on now! Get!"

"Aish!" I exasperate. "I'm going, I'm going!"

I throw my hands in the air as I turn to the direction of the nearest zeta.

"You'd think I were surrounded by my mother around you all!" I smirk before taking off, leaving them all to their respected 'heeeyyyyy!'s.

I laugh as I take off into the skies, leaving the rest up to the team.

'I need to have faith,' I repeat. 'They've got this.'

The Coven

June 13

3:08 A.M

I step silently into Haneul's room, lightly closing the door behind me.

My boots lightly thump on the carpet as I attempt to move silently to his side.

As I come to a stop beside him, I hesitate in reaching out to his side.

'He looks so peaceful,' I find myself smiling.

His face smushed into the side of his pillow, forcing his lips into an adorable little pout. His cheeks push into his closed eyes, forming his face into one reminiscent of a child.

'Oh, like the child you dreamed about in your 'escape land' that you still haven't told him about?' My brain reminds me without permission.

'Uh, who asked you?' I scowl at myself, most certainly not needing the reminder.

I slowly reach out to brush his crimson locks out of the way of his face, hesitating as he shifts lightly under my touch.

"Jagi, don't bother," Han suddenly groans. "I'm still awake."

His glowing cerulean eyes open, casting a faint blue hue onto his cheeks and pillows.

"And here I was hoping that you'd be getting some rest," I sigh, sitting on the side of his bed, reaching over to the side-table to hand him his bottle of water.

"I was dead," He rasps. "Can't get much more sleep than that."

I remain silent.

He wasn't dead, but the thought still lingers in my head.

The 'what-if's'.

"Is Jaime contained?" He asks, taking a sip of his water.

"So far," I nod.

Silence encases the room once more.

"So…" he begins slowly. "How long should I endure the curt nods and short responses until I am able to ask for forgiveness?"

"How long should I have know about your worsening state?" I counter, turning to glare at him.

"Alright, fair," He sighs.

Han shifts himself around on his bed, attempting to make room on the side I sit on. His attempt at offering comfort.

"You aren't getting off so easily," I shake my head at him, denying his comfort. "And you've been sweating, and coughing, and being sick and gross on these sheets, and no way I'm sleeping there until you are one hundred percent better, and have a clean comforter."

"Also fair," He agrees. "Then where will you sleep?"

"I'm sure Sko misses cuddles," I begin, moving to stand back up.

"That bed is hardly comfortable enough for you, Princess," Han tries.

"It's also hardly comfortable for me to deal with all of the emotions swirling through my head, and the fatigue aching through my body," I counter once more. "I'm sure I'll live."

His frown deepens.

Was I too harsh? Possibly.

Did he deserve it? Uh, yeah.

Am I going to be so salty that I will not share a bed with him? Abso-freakin-lutely.

"You will," He nods slowly, watching as I make my way back to the door. "You will live. And you will fight. Even when you shouldn't, you will. Especially when you shouldn't."

I glance back at him as my hand rests on the door-knob.

A small, tired smile forming on his lips as his glowing eyes observe me fondly.

"And I will stand by and watch you in awe as you continue to defy all odds," He continues. "I will watch on as you prove to me every single day, that you are the strongest woman in the realms. The strongest woman, and the most selfless. And you do it with the grace of an Amazon."

A small snort escapes his lips.

"And yet here I am, consistently surprised by you every day, when I know better," He sighs. "But somehow, you manage to make me feel that way. I suppose that is what it is like being in love."

"Flattery will not save you from my anger, Han," I sigh, gripping onto the door-knob with white knuckles.

"I know," He chuckles. "But it will save you from your own."

Alrighty my peeps! I will now be answering any questions any of you may have had about my long hiatus. Although I cannot promise that my updates will be frequent, I can promise that I have not left this story behind.

Hope: No I have not abandoned this fic! As far as I know, those are all facts about Cerberus. Yeah, college is really no joke. Especially if you have to transfer, and some credits don't count from state to state... it's difficult!

Anime hotty lover.18: He still has a bit of recovery, but yep! He's alive!

Luna Star Phantom: See, I've been sick from Halloween, all the way until the second week of December. Then my dad's coworker's kid got sick and gave it to everyone, then he brought it home, I said 'stay 1,000 feet away from me' he laughed, coughed on me, and I was sick AGAIN until last week. It was not a good time these last 3 months. And the Fairy Tail fic will probably just revolve around Laxus and my OC, not much of the guild, for the most part. And since I have not actually finished FT, My fic might slightly defer from the canon, but not too much.

-Gargoyle77