LOS ANGELES
AUGUST 24, 00:20 PDT
Through a Zeta Tube, the Outsiders walk into a base built into a cave. As they walk through, Sphere and a girl walks up to the group as they relax in their base. The girl is wearing a suit that is primarily light gray on the torso and along the inside of her legs just above the ankle. The secondary color is black on the built-in hood, along the shoulder, arms, sides of her torso, the outside of her legs to the ankles and covers the feet. The suit has a purple accent line going around the front of the hood, a blue accent line going down the shoulders and wrapping around the biceps, a red accent line going around the forearm, and a yellow accent line going around the back of the hand of the sleeves. Her name is Gabrielle Doe, a member of the Outsiders but is known as Halo.
Gabrielle walks up to Brion as he returns with rest of with the six other Outsiders. She smiles at him as she stands in front of him and Brion kisses her on the lips. Gabrielle pulls away from the kiss and looks at Brion, blushing a little. "So how was the mission?"
"The mission went fine for us, but how about you…?" Brion says looking down smiling at her. "…did you find anything or remember anything?"
"No, not today…" Gabrielle says rather disappointed as her eyes look down at the floor. "…I wish it was easier to remember but—"
Brion cups her cheeks in his hands and tilts her head up as her eyes look at him. "I do not know what retrograde amnesia is like, but I don't believe that it chooses when your memories come back." Brion kisses Gabrielle on her forehead and looks at her again. "Give it more time. Your memories will come back eventually."
Conner puts down a duffle bag as he and Jeff turns to the Outsiders. "Alright guys, we believe that was the last Intergang base." He says looking at the group.
"So, what now?" Rex asks, seeing how the Outsiders really have not had time for breaks.
"I guess we can go home for now." Conner says.
"Seriously?" Rec asks in rather disbelief of what Conner just said.
"Yeah, why not?" Conner says, looking at Jeff, who just shrugs his shoulders. "I think we've earned it. If anything happens, we'll alert you. But until then, go home, spend some time with your friends and family, and relax for now."
The group disperses as Conner and Jeff use the computer in the base to file a report on the mission. Kori, Brion, and Halo walk up to the pair as Conner senses them and turns around. "So…you all going home tonight?"
"Yes..." Kori answers. "…it has been some time since I have seen Kaldur. I will be happy to see him again."
"Well I hope the best for both of you." Conner says with a smile. "Good night, Kori."
"Good night, Conner." Kori says before walking to the Zeta Tube and disappearing in a bright yellow light.
Conner looks back over at Brion and Gabrielle. "And what about you two? Heading back to Markovia?"
"Yes. It's been some time since I have seen my family." Brion says as he then looks down at Gabrielle. "And introduce them to someone special." Gabrielle blushes and looks up at Brion as he smiles down at her.
"Well I hope the best for both of you as well." Conner says as he turns back to the computer and continues to type his report. "I know I have someone special waiting for me to come home. So after tonight I know I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Well we hope the best for both of you, too." Gabrielle says with a smile on her face. They walk over to the Zeta Tube and disappear in a bright yellow light.
Conner finishes his mission report and stops typing before looking over at Jeff. "Jeff, I'm heading home. Did you finish your report?"
"Not yet." Jeff says and looks over at Conner as he stops typing. "I need to finish this and then I'm going to stay a little longer."
"Alright. Well, I'll see you later." Conner says as he turns around and in a red flash of light disappears from the base.
HAPPY HARBOR
AUGUST 24, 01:03 EDT
Conner teleports in a front of a door in what looks like an apartment complex. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key as he unlocks the door. He walks into the apartment and takes off his shoes at the door as he sees a sleeping Wolf laying on the couch. He walks up to behind the couch and scratches Wolf behind the ears as he purrs lightly. He looks at the main bedroom and sees the light is on inside of it as makes his way towards it. He opens the door to the bedroom next to his and sees a sleeping Garfield in bed with the blanket on top of him. Looking back at the main bedroom door, Conner grips the doorknob and turns it as he looks inside the room. In the bed, looking at a tablet that hides her face, is a female with red hair in pajama shorts and tank top. The most noticeable feature of this woman is that her skin is mint green. Conner listens as he hears her read inside her head and it causes him to smile.
"M'gann…" The woman stops reading as she lowers the tablet and Conner is met with these beautiful amber eyes. Her hair has grown as well as it goes down, nearly reaching the bottom of her neck. What lets Conner know it is the woman he loves are the freckles on her cheeks as she looks at him with great surprise. "…I'm home."
M'gann stands up from the bed and slowly walks over to Conner while he stands at the doorway with his eyes on her. M'gann walks up to him until she stands in front of him and looks up into his blue eyes. M'gann takes her hand and reaches up to touch his face as it lands on his cheek and feel its warmth. Conner takes his hand and places it on top of her warm hand as he rubs it with his thumb. Conner opens his mouth to speak but is stopped when M'gann wraps her arms around him and kisses him on the lips. Conner wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her back as they stand in the doorway with Conner having to tilt his next down. A minute later, they break the kiss but not fully as their foreheads touch while they breathe a little winded.
"I missed you." M'gann says while looking into his eye.
"I missed you, too." Conner says while smiling down at her. Truth be told, Conner missed M'gann when he was with the Outsiders. Without knowing when he will be coming back from a mission or not being able to contact each other regularly made M'gann worry about him. What made it more difficult is that when there were more Intergang or bad guys to stop, he did not stay long. "How long is it until you have to go back?"
"No time soon. As far as we know, tonight was the last Intergang operation in the world." Conner says as he smiles down at her. He walks over to the bed and takes off his shirt as he lay down on the next to where M'gann was laying. "As far as we know…tonight was the last one."
"So…?" M'gann asks as she lays on the bed next to Conner.
"So…what?" Conner asks
"So…what are you going to do now?"
"I…don't know." Conner says rather surprised, not knowing what comes next. Without knowing when the Outsiders would have been done, he put the thought of what came after aside. "I guess I come back and help you guys."
"Well it hasn't been the same for any of us without you. It'll be good to have you back." M'gann says as she looks over at Conner as he stares off into the distance. "Conner…?"
Conner snaps out of his trance a second after M'gann calls him. "Yes?"
"Are you going to bed?" She asks as she turns and lays on her side.
"Um…No."
"Good…tell me a story." M'gann says as Conner lays on his side and uses his hand to prop his head up.
"Really…now?" Conner asks, giving M'gann a questioning look.
"Yeah. Why not?"
"So, it can be any story?"
"Yes…now come on." M'gann says cheerfully while Conner thinks of a story to tell.
"Okay. How about the story of the Outsiders?" Conner asks while M'gann looks at him confused.
"Come on Conner. I know how the Outsiders were formed." She says with a little disappointment in her voice.
"I know you know…" Conner says as he plays with a strand of her hair. "But what you don't know when the Outsiders became a true team."
"Really?" M'gann asks sarcastically.
"Yeah." Conner says as he and M'gann let out a little chuckle. "You see, this story of the Outsiders begins a year ago…"
GOTHAM CITY
JULY 26, 14:08 EDT
ONE YEAR EARLIER
Conner teleports outside of Wayne Manor as he looks at his phone and looks at a message from Dick.
Meet me at the Manor now. We need to talk.
Conner puts his phone away as he looks at the Manor's large doors and knocks. A moment later, an elderly man in a black dress jacket and pants, a maroon vest, a white button-down long-sleeve, and a black tie answers the door. He is the Wayne family's loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. "Ah, Mister Kent, a pleasure to see you."
"It's nice to see you too, Alfred." Conner says as Alfred opens the door more and he enters the Manor. "Can you tell me where Dick is? He told me we need to talk."
"I was told. Miss Gordon is in the Cave and Master will be down there shortly." Alfred says as he closes the door and walks away. "If you need me just call for me."
"Thank you, Alfred, but I might not be here long."
Conner says as he walks through the Manor and into the study. He walks to the other side to the grandfather clock and stands in front of it. A panel slides up from of the clock and reveals a screen with a hand scanner pad. Conner puts his hand on the scanner and waits as it scans. The pad glows and reads: GOOD EVENING, MISTER KENT, as the clockwise slides to the right and reveals a staircase heading down. He follows the stairs down and ends up in the Batcave as he sees Barbara at the Batcomputer.
"I definitely have to get me one of these someday." Conner says as Barbara turns away from the Batcomputer and reveals herself to be in a wheelchair.
"Conner…" Barbara rolls over to him and he bends down and gives her a hug. "…how's it going?"
"Hey, Barb." Conner says, standing up from the hug. Barbara turns around and heads back to the Batcomputer with Conner following her. "So, how's it been going?"
"Oracle's no Batgirl, but it has it perks. With these guys out in the field, they needed someone to be there eyes and ears.."
"She's a big help when it comes to tracking bad guys."
Conner looks behind him at the staircase and sees Dick walking down in a black shirt and blue jeans. "Conner, it's good to see you again."
"Good to see you too, Dick. But your message said we need to talk…" Conner says while Dick walks by him to the Batcomputer. "…so, let's talk. But before that, can you tell me why my suit was in Russia two days ago?"
"I will. Barb…if you would please?" Dick says and Barbara types on the Batcomputer as a picture of a man is shown on the screen.
"This is Frederick DeLamb, also known as Baron Bedlam." Barbara says, looking back to see Conner. "You see what he did there? He used an anag—"
"Yes, he used an anagram. Can you just…go on, please?" Conner says, not really amused by the joke.
Barbara turns back to the Batcomputer and types as more photos appear of a country and his family. "Alright. About 80 years ago, his family controlled Markovia, a small eastern European country, under the Nazi Party. After the Allies removed the Axis from Europe his family was exiled from Markovia and moved to Russia." She says, pulling up more pictures of DeLamb in a science lab and a black substance he is using.
"Surprise, surprise, the man is an actual genius with multiple degrees in Biology and Chemistry." Dick says, smirking to himself. "That made him the perfect person to experiment on people. He's been kidnapping and experimenting on people who tested positive for the Meta-Gene and uses a substance called Tar, to activate their Meta-Gene. For those who are lucky to survive, they are sold for top dollar to whoever wants them." Dick says to Conner while he takes in the information.
"Okay. So, what does that have to do with my suit or why you called me here?" Conner says as he looks back at the Batcomputer. "More importantly, why aren't you telling this to the Justice League?" Since the Outsiders are not on the record, the League did not learn of metahuman trafficking until they intervened in a battle on Rann against Darkseid's parademons.
"I was getting to that." Dick says as pictured of glass chambers and a black substance. "Anyway, Bedlam was do the experiments in Moscow until I blew up his factory. While I took a sample of the Tar, Barbara was able to trace a component of it back to Markovia. And if you've been watching the news, it should be no surprise why that is."
"You mean the teen abductions? You think that's where he's getting his subjects from?" Conner asks as he reads the information on the screen.
"Not necessarily. That's not all, I—" Barbara elbows him on the side. "—we believe that Intergang might be involved."
"What makes you say that?" Conner asks.
"Bedlam has been contacting Ugly lately. Not only that, but we talked Ugly down and found or he's in Markovia too." Barbara says.
"I called you hear today because there's a metahuman trafficking syndicate in Markovia that we can shut down with your help. Because of that I think we should bring back the Outsiders." Dick says.
"Who exactly are you asking?" Conner says, continuing to read the data on the Batcomputer. "There weren't a lot of us to begin with, so who are you asking?"
"Rex?" Barbara says.
"No, Rex will find it suspicious and probably tell Bruce. Who else are you trying to get to come back?"
"Jeff?" Dick says.
"Obviously. Who else?"
"Artemis."
"No." Conner states rather quickly.
"But Conner—"
"She didn't want to join a year ago when Bruce pitched the idea, she is going to join now." Conner says with an aggressive tone underlining his voice. "She only got back into the game because of what happened to Wally. So, tell me how you are going to convince her to join?"
"When it's all over we go our separate ways. No muss, no fuss." Dick says as he turns to Conner with a serious expression. "We can't leave those kids in the hands of Intergang. This is our only chance to save them and bring down Intergang again."
Conner sighs, not looking at Dick as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Fine."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'll help you. I'll contact Jeff, fill him in on the situation." Conner says with a sarcastic tone, looking at Dick.
"And that leaves me with Artemis." Dick says, putting his fingers around his chin.
"Yeah. So, you need to give her a good reason to join us." Conner says making his way back up to the stairs leading out of the Batcave.
"Conner…?" Dick says, making Conner stop one more time to look at him. "Thank you."
"Thank me when it's over." He says, continuing up the stairs and out of the Batcave. Conner walks to the front door where Alfred is standing with the door open. "What do you think Alfred?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I know you heard. You hear everything in this house." He says. If Conner did not have enhanced vision, he would not have seen the small smirk in the corner of Alfred's mouth. "I'm talking about Dick. What do you think I should do?"
"Are you going to help him in Markovia?"
"Of course. People's lives are in danger and they need to be rescued."
"But…?"
"Why is Dick trying to start his own Outsiders? When we brought Intergang down the first time, the four of us agreed that we were done being Outsiders." Conner says, leaning against the large door as he thinks about past events. "I was enjoying life, enjoying being back with the others until he called."
"Being a hero makes you wonder which you should put first: you or your responsibility." Alfred says.
Conner let's out a light chuckle at Alfred's statement. "Yes, it does..." He says before sighing to himself with a smile on his face. "…but I made my choice a long time ago. Anyway, how's Bruce?"
"Well, as a matter of fact He is one a mission with Miss Yamashiro and Mister Mason. Personally, I'm surprised that he doesn't know of Master Dick's plan."
"Be honest, you know he knows. Dick probably knows he knows." Conner says, grabbing his neck and sighing before looking at Alfred. "I should go…I have to go convince Jeff to come back to the Outsiders."
"Very well, then. Off you go." Alfred says as Conner walks out the doors and onto the driveway. "Oh, before I forget…" Conner turns to Alfred as he waits for him to talk. "Master Dick says to have you and Mister Pierce meet him at Atlantic City International Airport tomorrow at 10 A.M."
"Thanks Alfred. Tell Bruce I said hi."
"You are welcome Mister Kent. And that is my job is it not?" Alfred says with a smile as he closes the door.
Conner looks at Wayne Manor one more time before looking up into the sky as he teleports away.
THE WATCHTOWER
JULY 26, 15:00 EDT
At the same time as Conner talks to Alfred, in the training room of the Watchtower, Jefferson is watching Virgil as he uses his lightning to grab a combat drone and smash it into another one. With his opponents retreating into the walls, someone's clapping catches Virgil attention as he looks across the room to see a smiling Jefferson walking up to him.
"Well done, Virgil. That was substantially faster than last week." Jeff says as he puts a hand on Virgil's shoulder.
"By how much?" Virgil asks, rather ecstatic to hear the result.
"15 seconds. You're getting better."
"Well, I'm learning from the best." Virgil says, Jeff nodding back in thanks.
"Alright, how about we call it for the day? You still have school tomorrow." Jeff says as him and Virgil walk out of the training room and make their way to the Zeta Tubes.
"Okay. Are you going to be here tomorrow? I wanted to see if we could train some more." Virgil asks.
"Right now, I don't know. But I'll let you know by tomorrow." Jeff says, patting him on the shoulder as they stand in front of the Zeta Tubes. Jeff types in the coordinates for the closest Zeta post near Virgil's home in Dakota City as the Zeta Tubes powers up. "Alright Virgil, get some rest and keep practicing on your own."
"Okay. See you later, Mr. Pierce." Virgil says, walking into the Zeta Tube and disappearing into yellow light.
Jeff sighs as he turns around just in time to see Conner teleport into the center of the mission room. "Conner?"
Conner turns around to see Jeff standing near the Zeta Tubes and walks over to him with a smirk. "Jeff…" Conner says as he and Jeff shake hands. "How's it going?"
"It's going good right now." Jeff says as they begin to walk around the mission room. "Training with Virgil has been going well and it's been quiet up here really. So, what brings you by to see me?" Jeff asks with a smile
Conner let's out a light laugh before giving a sad sigh. "I need your help Jeff." Conner says with regret in his voice. "Me, Barbara, Dick…we need your help." Conner says.
"What is it?" Jeff asks, his face becoming one of concern.
"Intergang…" Conner says, noticing Jeff's eyes harden, brow furrow, and have a frown on his face. "They're back."
"Where?" Jeff asks in a serious voice.
"Markovia."
"Conner..." Jeff says, his voice becoming a little relaxed. "Are you about to ask me what I think you are?"
Conner sighs again with some agitation being heard in his throat as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Dick's bringing back the Outsiders to stop a metahuman trafficking ring in Markovia. I'm here because he needs-" Conner cuts himself off before groaning. "Because WE need you Jeff. We need your help to save these kids from Intergang."
"What guarantee do I have that once we're done, we're done?" Jeff asks
"Dick said, and I quote, 'When it's all over we go our separate ways. No muss, no fuss.'" Conner says. "Trust me, I don't want to do this either but he's right about one thing…" Conner stops as he and Jeff looks at Earth. "We can't leave those kids in the hands if Intergang. So, what do say Jeff? Will you join the Outsiders one more time?"
Conner continues to stare down at Earth while Jeff crosses his arms and sighs.
"Wait, wait…" M'gann says cutting Conner off from the story. "What does this have to do with the 'real' Outsiders?"
"Maybe I should've specified a little more." Conner says, picking up on M'gann's confusion. "What makes this story about the 'real' Outsiders is because this how the Outsiders found a new leader."
"Who was it?" She asks.
"Sorry. You'll have to wait until the end of the story." Conner says as he gives M'gann a soft poke on the nose. "So, where were we? Oh, yeah…Jeff's answer. So, Jeff said yes, Dick somehow got Artemis to say yes, and the next day we flew off to Markovia. The day after when the King and Queen of Markovia held the press conference was when the mission…became a little more interesting."
MARKOVBURG
JULY 28, 23:37 EEST
Castle Markov; the most beautiful building in Markovia and home to the Markovian Royal Family. The royal family consists of King Viktor and Queen Ilona, their eldest son and heir, Gregor, their second son, Brion, and their youngest and only daughter, Tara. The King and Queen govern the country with the utmost respect to their citizens and their people hold them in high regard. They also help refugees of other countries in times of crisis and treat them as if they themselves were Markovian. But as of late, troubling things have been happening in Markovia and its citizens. Trafficking of teenage and children metahumans has been occurring in the country and has even affected the royal family. Two years prior, Princess Tara was abducted from Castle Markov and had not been seen since. The King and Queen held a press conference earlier that morning to announce a fundraiser ball they were having tonight at Castle Markov to find the abducted children and their daughter. The ball was being held in the garden of the castle, so there would be a large enough space for people to converse and drink. Throughout the garden, the team of four are dressed in formal attire with Dick and Artemis staying together while Conner and Jeff walk around and listening in on conversations.
'Dick, how was it that you were only able to secure two invites to the fundraiser?' Conner asks through the mind-link he set before they entered the castle.
'The invites were for Bruce, but I took them for me and Artemis in his place.' Dick says as he takes a sip of his drink. 'And I don't see why you're complaining. You and Jeff are in the castle, aren't you?'
'Yeah, after I had to make fake invites for us.' Conner says, looking around as people walk and talk. 'So, what is it we're looking for?'
'Anything that could give us a lead to where the children are being taken and who is-.' Dick replies.
'A lot easier said than done…' Jeff interjects as he stands listening to a conversation. 'Especially considering where we are now. A trafficking ring like this would be kept in secret and wouldn't be discussed at a fundraiser like this.'
'We don't know for sure. Weird things happen all the time and we've encountered them before.' Artemis says, looking around the courtyard with Dick arm-in-arm. She stops when she sees two men, one in royal clothing with a sword and the other in a black suit, standing opposite of each other talking and guards in suits standing around them. She activates her ConTacts and it identifies the two as Prince Gregor and Prince Brion. 'Heads up. I have eyes on the princes.'
'We need to keep eyes on them and make sure nothing happens to them.' Conner says.
'Why?' Dick asks, questioningly.
'This morning when we were preparing for tonight and I was adjusting the ConTacts, I hacked into the castle's security cameras and found something. It was a talk between Brion and Dr. Helga Jace, the Markov's royal scientist.' Conner says, looking over in Dick and Artemis' location and seeing the princes.'It also explains why Princess Tara was kidnapped.'
'Show us.' Dick says.
'Okay. Pulling up to all our HUDs now.' Conner says. Dick and Jeff activate their ConTacts as security footage is shown of Brion and Dr. Jace standing in a large hallway.
"What is it Dr. Jace?" Brion asks the royal scientist looks at him with a frown.
"The information I am about to tell you will not only affect you and your brother…" Helga explains. "But may be connected to the disappearance of your sister."
"Helga please…tell me." Brion pleads.
"With the outbreak of metahuman abductions, I decided to test you and Gregor's blood for a hypothesis I had. The results I received not only proved my hypothesis but was also startling." She explains.
"What were the results?" Brion asks.
"Prince Brion…you tested positive for the Meta-Gene." She says, somberly
"What?" Brion asks, shock clear in his voice.
"Both you and Prince Gregor tested positive for the Meta-Gene in your blood." She explains. "Princess Tara would have likely tested positive as well."
"Which explains why she was taken!" Brion says, clenching his hands into a fist as he looks away from Jace. "Who else knows about this?"
"So far, only you." Helga states. "Your parents are in the middle of the press conference and I cannot find Gregor. You are the first I thought to come to with this."
"Is there any known way for the Meta-Gene to be activated?" Brion says, catching the doctor off guard.
"I do not know. Why do you ask?"
"If they took my sister for her Meta-Gene, then that means they have a way of triggering it." Brion states.
"I will look into it immediately, my prince. I will let you know of any information I find?" She says.
"Thank you, Helga." Brion says. She nods before walking away and leaves Brion alone to himself. Brion walks in the opposite direction of Helga and the video cuts out.
'Well that explains a lot.' Artemis says. 'So, the princess was kidnapped for her Meta-Gene?'
'It looks like it…' Dick says, glancing over at the princes. 'But this also complicates things.'
'What does it complicate?' Artemis asks.
'If Brion's looking into the trafficking syndicate too, then he will be looking for the metahumans. And if he finds the abductees before we do…'
'He won't only get himself killed but also the teens.' Jeff says, finishing off Dick's sentence.
'Exactly…' Dick says, activating his com-link. "Oracle, tell me you found something on where these kids our being taken?"
"With the curfew King Viktor put on the city, it makes my job a lot easier." Barbara says, her voice coming through on the communicator. "Okay, I have two places with a lot of activity. One is an abandoned hospital and the other is at a cemetery outside of the city."
"Okay, send the locations to our HUDs. We'll check them out, see if they can lead us to the teens. Nightwing, out" Dick says as the locations appear on his HUD. 'Oracle just sent two locations to us.'
'Where to?' Conner asks.
'An abandoned hospital and at a cemetery outside the city.' Dick says. 'Conner, Jeff, I want you two to check out the hospital. I and Artemis will check out what's going on at the cemetery.'
'Alright, let's go.' Artemis says.
Artemis and Dick start making their way to the exit when a man bumps into Artemis as she and Dick are about to enter the castle.
"Apologies…" A man says. Artemis turns around as the man turns around and reveals himself to be Prince Brion. "Are you okay, milady?"
"I'm fine, Prince Brion, thank you. To be honest I was not paying attention myself." Artemis says with a smile.
"That is good. Are you two leaving?" Brion asks.
"Yes, we have to turn in for the night. We're leaving for America tomorrow?" Dick says.
"Well I hope you two have a safe flight tomorrow, Mr.…?"
"Grayson. Dick Grayson. And this is Artemis Crock." Dick says, sticking his hand out.
"Oh, you are Bruce Wayne's son." Brion says, shaking Dick's hand. "Sorry your father could not attend this evening."
"Oh, it's fine. He actually wanted to apologize for not being able to come." Dick says, giving a light laugh. "And since he didn't want the invitation to go to waste, he gave them to me, so I could attend in his place."
"And is Artemis your girlfriend?" Brion asks.
"Oh, no, no, no…" Artemis says before Dick could answer. "We're not dating, I'm just a friend. I'm actually Oliver Queen's niece. I was reading into the abduction of your citizens and I wanted to help. And since he couldn't attend either, so he gave them to me in his place. I'm so sorry about the princess."
"Thank you and I appreciate that you want to help. We have not found anything yet, but I believe that in time we will find the abducted teens…" Brion says, before looking over Artemis' shoulder and sees something behind her. "And my sister. Well…thank you both again for attending and have a safe flight back. If you would excuse me…I have important business I need to discuss." Brion walks past them as Dick and Artemis continue to make their way toward the exit.
"I have to say…Brion has hope." Artemis says aloud.
"Which is even more reason why we need to find." Dick says. "We don't need Brion to do something that can put him and the teens in danger."
"Well then…let's go do our jobs."
After leaving the charity, the four met up on a rooftop right across the street from the abandoned hospital in the city. The team is in their undercover suits with Artemis and Conner each carrying a duffle bag.
Dick looks across the street at the hospital before turning back to the group. "Okay, Artemis and I are going to the cemetery to see what's happening, we'll contact you if we find anything."
"Same here." Conner says.
Dick and Artemis climb down to street level where motorcycles are waiting for them. They jump on their motorcycles and driving off as Conner and Jeff watch them.
Conner watches them fade into the distance before turning back to Jeff. "Okay, let's do this."
They both put their masks on and jump down to street level before hoping the fence and entering the hospital.
"Okay, Oracle, we're in. And where is this activity coming from?" Conner asks.
"Activity has stopped. It's coming from the basement of the hospital. Make your way down there and I'll guide to where you need to go." She replies.
The two make their way to the basement, taking the stairway all the way down, and when they reach the bottom they both see light coming from the gap in the bottom of the door. They both look at each other before Jeff opens the door quietly and find out the ceiling lights are on.
"Oracle, should there be any power in this place." Jeff asks.
"No…why?"
"Because the basement has full power." Jeff says as he and Conner walk down the hallway. "Is there anything saying that the hospital would be reopened?"
"Nothing that I can find."
"Whatever, just tell us where to go?"
"Okay. So, you're going to go all the way down the hallway and mark a right. Then it will be the first pair of double door to the right."
The two follow Barbara's instructions and find the double door on the right side of the hallway. They walk into the room and look confused before looking at each other before Conner presses on his com-link. "Uh…Barbara are you sure this is the last place the movement came from?"
"Yeah…why?"
"Barbara, you just lead us to the morgue." Conner says as he and Jeff look at the body fridges and the autopsy tables.
"Well it's says it's coming from the far end of the room."
Conner and Jeff look around the morgue as they walk to the other end of the room and stand in front of a wall. "Barbara, there's nothing but a brick wall here."
"Hold on. Let me see if the satellite is reading it correctly."
While Barbara is doing that, Conner places his hand on the wall and drags his hand across it when suddenly he hears something. "Hold on, Oracle." Conner uses his enhanced hearing and listens in on the noise as he looks towards his feet at the bottom of the wall.
"What is it, Conner?" Jeff asks.
"There's a draft." Conner replies. Conner uses his infrared vision and scans the wall and sees a hallway behind it. "There's a passage right behind this wall."
"That explains why it wouldn't appear on the normal layout, it's not a part of the original building. See if you can find a switch or a button that can open it."
Still using his infrared vision, Conner looks around the wall and sees a part of the wall that is colder than the rest. Conner walks over to the cold spot and presses on it lightly. A square part of the wall that is the cold spot pushes in and Conner immediately retracts his hand as the square sits back in its original position. "There's a pressure plate on the wall." Conner says as he scans the wall to see what the plate activates. "I wonder…"
Conner presses on the pressure pad harder and both he and Jeff hear a click. Nothing happens, and Conner walks back over to Jeff just as he hears something move. He turns back to the wall as a secret door opens and leads into a hallway. "What do you know, it worked. Oracle, we're going in."
"I'll be on standby if you need anything. Be careful."
"Understood." Conner says. He and Jeff look at each other before looking back at the entrance of the hallway. They walk down the hallway for a minute until they come to the end and see four pods with two archways behind them and hallways to the left and right of them.
Jeff investigates the first pod on his right and sees a European boy in it with a sidebar showing his vitals. "Oracle, we've found an abducted teen. Male, more than likely Markovian. There's also three other pods but they're empty. Can you tell us how to open this thing?"
"Sure. First you need to-"
"Well it seems our operation has been discovered…" Conner and Jeff turn around to a man's voice and sees a silhouette behind a glass window. The silhouette steps into view and reveals to be a man that Conner and Jeff know all to well. "Superboy and Black Lightning, I presume."
"Vertigo…" Jeff says, charging his hands with electricity. "You're behind the teen abductions aren't you?"
"Well how else are we suppose to find metahumans?"
"You're kidnapping children and turning them into weapons!" Jeff yells back at Vertigo. "And what about the ones that don't survive the experiments? What about the ones that die after the experiments?"
"It is not as if they will be missed. The families of the children believe they are dead. If they die, it is not as if we are lying." Vertigo answers in an insulting manner.
"Why are you doing this though?" Conner asks. "You're not the type to work for others. So why are you working for Bedlam?"
"I am not working for Bedlam. We work with Bedlam." Vertigo says, annoyed. "He makes the metahumans and we sell them to whoever wants them."
"Wait, 'we'? Who is 'we'?" Conner asks.
"You know who we are. We are always there and we were there two years ago."
"The Light."
"You're catching on quickly. We sell them to a lot of people, but we have a main buyer."
"Who? Who wants metahumans that badly?"
"Apologies, but that information is confidential." Vertigo says, snidely. "Men, make sure these two do not leave this place alive."
At that moment, men with assault rifles file into the room and aim their weapons at Conner and Jeff. In that same moment, the boy in the pod wakes up and looks around at the scene that is unfolding. He bangs on the glass as she screams in Romanian, fear present in his voice. Vertigo presses a button and the tank begins to fill with a black liquid.
"No!" Conner yells as he punches the man in front of him and send him flying into two men behind him. The other armed men open fire as Jeff uses his powers to make a force field that stops the bullets in their tracks. The men continue to fire as Jeff collects the bullets in his lightning. When the men stop, they look as Jeff let's their bullets drop to the floor a d he fires an electro-blast at one of the men, causing it to spread to two others. Jeff focuses on the men in front of him that he does not see one aiming his gun at him but Conner comes out of nowhere and punches him in the face. Conner and Jeff stand back to back as Conner looks over at the pod and sees it past half full. Conner looks around as the men completely surround them and aim their guns. Conner eyes and hands glow red as he looks over his shoulder at Jeff. "Jeff, get down!"
Jeff looks at Conner in shock as his power builds up on his hands.
"Now!"
Jeff ducks as down as the men takes aim at Conner and press on the trigger. Before the bullets can leave the chambers, Conner pushes his hands outwards and a large force blast that breaks all the guns and sends all the men flying across the room. Jeff stands up and looks around the room at the unconscious men and looks back at Conner. "Nice."
"Thanks." Conner says. Before they can do anything, Conner sees Jeff look behind him in surprise as a reddish light shines on him. Conner turns around and looks at the tube with shocked eyes as the tubes is filled with what looks like lava. Conner and Jeff run towards the tube when a large hand breaks through the glass and actual lava melts away the glass. The boy breaks out of the tube only to reveal that he is no longer looks like the boy that entered. The boy's entire body is full of lava and fire, he no longer has a face, and his brain, heart, and nervous system can be seen through body. "We're too late."
Before either of them could do anything, they are struck by a nauseating wave that makes them drop to their knees. Both of them look up to see this wave coming from Vertigo as he stands over them smirking. "Sorry, but did you really think it was going to be that easy?"
The boy walks over to Jeff and picks him up by his shoulder, but the suit protects him from being burned. The boy punches Jeff and sends him through the ceiling of the basement and out the front door of the hospital.
"Jeff!" Conner yells with strain in his voice as he looks through the hole in the ceiling. Before Conner can do anything, the boy grabs him by his shoulders and holds him up against one the archways of the former tubes. While bis lava hands burn away at his shirt, Conner winces as he looks around for a way to stop him. Conner eyes and hand glow red again as he uses a force blast to break contact with him and his hand glow blue as he breaks the ground beneath him as he falls down into the sewer. Conner catches his breath for moment as he looks around the room and sees that Vertigo is gone.
'Superboy, come in. We've got a problem over here.' Conner hears Dick voice come through his head. 'Prince Brion has been kidnapped.'
'Dick, I need you and Artemis to come to the hospital now! The Light has been behind the teen abductions and I need your help with one of them!'
'Wait! The Light is behind this?!' Artemis asks. 'That sorta blows your whole Intergang idea out of the water.'
'Guys, focus!' Conner yells, silencing them. 'Jeff's been injured and I can't contact him! I need you here right now!'
'Okay, we're on our way now. Hang on until we get there.' Dick says.
Conner looks down the hole as the boy gets up from being dropped into the sewer. Conner jumps down into the sewer as the boy stands up straight as his body rages with fire. Conner jumps at the boy, burning away his gloves, trying to keep him at bay long enough for Dick and Artemis to arrive. While Conner punches at him, he grabs him by his arm as he wraps his arms around him and tries to crush him. Conner feels the sting of the lava all across his upper body as it starts to tire him out and burn away his shirt. As Conner looks for a way to stop him when he looks at his neck and sees a pad inside of it. He looks closer and sees that it looks Apokoliptian in nature, making him realize that he is being controlled. With all his might, Conner breaks one of his arms free and makes his hand glow blue as he reach inside the boy's neck a little and grab the pad. He pulls it out of him as his grip weakens and starts to stagger before passing out and his body turns into obsidian. Conner looks at him in fear, scared that he might be dead before he hears a heartbeat and releases a breath he did not know he was holding. Conner crushes the pad as he looks back at the boy unconscious body, that is now shedding the obsidian off.
"Well, that takes care of that." Conner says, taking a moment to sit down and catch his breath. "Now, where is Vertigo?"
Before Conner could get up, he is struck by a nauseating wave and collapses all the way to the ground. As he looks up, he sees Vertigo looking down at him from the hole he created with a smirk on his face.
"Sleep, for when you awake your friends will not be able to save you."
Before he passes out, Conner activates the tracker in his ConTacts and looks at Vertigo one last time. "My team will find me. And when they do, you better be prepared to surrender." He says as his view fades to black and everything is silent.