I LIVE! okay, I'm really working towards finishing this so I finally got this chapter done. since it's been a year or more since the last update (SORRY!) I wanted to put out the next chapter as fast as I could. Where have I been? Working on a lot of other projects. Many are done. Anywho, I think I got a feel again for what I was planning here so I'm back to work. Can't guarantee regular updates with this guy because of how much I felt like i was pulling teeth here, but it's not completely forgotten. Again, sorry for the epically long wait.

Ch. 23 – Dust and Fumes

As is typically the case, things did not go as planned. Though they tried to be as stealthy, they couldn't escape the debris around the old building. Superboy slipped on several loose pieces of shale, falling head long into Aqualad. They made a loud enough noise to not only alert the criminal they were tracking, but every animal within fifty yards of them.

Scarecrow seemed less than pleased by their arrival.

"Someone is trying to be sneaky," he taunted, coming towards their location. "Trying to be brave. Don't you know fear when you see it?"

Kaldur tapped his communicator, casting Conner a quick glare before getting himself ready to fight. "Aqualad to Batman. We have located the Scarecrow. Position compromised. Your instructions?"

"Keep him in sight," Batman ordered. "Don't breathe anything, and keep your heads down. We'll zero in on you position shortly."

"Acknowledged." He let go of his com, looking about to where they last spotted the madman. He had moved out of their sight, already making their job harder than it was. He looked to Conner and ordered a quick strategy to correct this. "Cover the back exit. We need to keep him contained but do not engage. Avoid any contact with foreign substances."

"How hard can the shrimp be?" Despite his skepticism, the clone used his speed to get towards the back of the building to block off any escape. Kal placed himself at the front, glad the old abandoned laboratory only had two access points. The bad part was all the leftover equipment around the room making it difficult to navigate through it all without running into something. The place was a virtual maze of clutter and debris. If it came down to a fight, the field would be against them.

He really hoped Scarecrow was not as much trouble as the typical Arkham inmate. Robin better have been exaggerating about them.

"Tick tock, goes the clock, and what now shall we play? Tick tock, goes the clock, now that summer's gone away." The eerie poem filled the air, breaking the chilling silence and bringing dread with every word. Worst part was, it was getting closer, and yet he couldn't find the source. "Tick tock, goes the clock, and what then shall we see? Tick tock, until the day, that thou shalt now fear me."

He could hear footsteps coming towards him after a moment, causing him to strain his senses. He had to get the drop on this madman before he started a panic. If even a portion of Robin's tales were true... Slowly he crept forward, keeping the door in reach so he could block it again if the Scarecrow appeared.

"Tick tock, goes the clock, and all the years they fly." The voice nearly chilled his blood as it came closer, surrounding him. "Tick tock and all too soon..." Something clicked above him. "All of you will die!"

At the last word, light bulbs crashed down around him, sending a thick powdery substance into the air. As per Batman's instructions, Kaldur held his breath and tried to clear the area before taking any air in. The strange chemical had blinded him though, making it impossible for him to tell where he was going. Blindly he crashed into a table then a trashcan before being shoved into a pillar by a passing form. Without his willing he took in a deep breath, catching a whiff of acetone before stopping himself. He blundered away to the outside, coughing as soon as he could to get rid of the horrid flavor in his mouth. Only slightly dizzy, he managed to see a thin figure run away from him merrily.

"Superboy! He is escaping!"

"On it!" Somehow the boy of steel was closer to him than he imagined, zooming after the lunatic within seconds. Kal was still trying to catch his breath, summoning water with his barriers to smother the vapors inside as he did so. Couldn't let the dust or gas escape the building and hurt others. It was a miracle he wasn't hallucinating right then. Didn't Robin say Scarecrow's gas was fast acting?

He was still coughing even after the dust was settled and someone else was next to him. "KAL! You alright buddy?"

"I -cough- I will survive." He looked around after a moment, searching for a face. "Superboy went after Scarecrow. cough He -cough- has a new aerosol powder inside -cough- light bulbs. There may be a sample -cough- inside. Had to wet it -cough- down."

"Yikes that's rough." Wally looked around for a moment next to him to make sure no one else was nearby. No one would be. The whole block was condemned. "Why would he be out here... Wait... Did you breathe any of that stuff in?"

Alarm grew on the speedster's face while Kaldur cast him an annoyed glare. "Your powers of observation are unnerving. cough cough"

"He got away." Conner reappeared next to them, highly annoyed. "Stick man slid through a crack and practically vanished."

"Ah crap..." Wally summed it up in a nutshell. "Bats is gonna kill us."

"Why did you -cough- let him get -cough- away?!" Annoyance was growing to anger in the elder teen.

"I didn't let him-"

"You have thermal vision! You could have-" A severe coughing fit over took him, causing both of his friends great concern. In the middle of it, he doubled over, grasping his knees desperately for support. Blindly he shoved the two near him away while he struggled to regain his breath. Midst their questions, he couldn't help but grow angrier. Of course he wasn't okay. He was a fish out of water! If it weren't for his Atlantian physiology, he'd be screaming about some night terror.

Once he could breathe, he glared up at the clone. "You should not have lost him."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Conner insisted, being truly apologetic. "Let me get you back to the cave so they can-"

"I am fine." To prove his point, Kaldur straightened himself to his full height and gave his teammates a firm glare. "We should spread out and locate him before -cough- Batman arrives."

"But you're-"

"NOW!" Hearing their leader snap made the two others worried, but he didn't care. Right then they had a mission and he was not going to fail it. Not waiting for them, the Atlantian charged forward, searching for a lead on the villain's movements. There was still time to find him. There had to be!

Batman tried to cool his emotions while he knelt over the remains of the lab Crane was using until that evening. Kaldur's failure to perform his instructions was frustrating, but not entirely unexpected. He was being stretched thin as a leader and even more as a friend by current events. Scarecrow could also be deceiving, making others believe he was easy when he wasn't. He couldn't count how many times they thought they had the man and was then doused with fear toxin. They should be so lucky the Atlantian wasn't affected by it. Conner wouldn't be due to his Kryptionian DNA being resilient against toxins, but even Aquaman had trouble with certain substances.

Then again, he wasn't sure this was fear toxin. The residue of the concoction Crane made was being dissolved by the water, but it could still be active in that form. It was touch and go with this rogue. Sometimes he used water as a medium, sometimes it was gas. Once in a while it was a powder. Those were especially unpredictable. Being absorbed through the skin, it was harder to contain and more potent when snorted or injected. It could also be easily be disguised as crack or be used to cut it. It was by far the most dangerous form Scarecrow could use, and the easiest to transport. He'd have to debrief Aqualad later.

"Need any help?" Wally's voice was a mite annoying right then, but at least it wasn't someone who didn't know about crime scenes and laboratories. He was still in the doorway, waiting for an answer.

"Shouldn't you be finding a lead on Scarecrow?"

He could hear the teen shrug. "I'm pretty sure Kal and Con have scared him off. And that guy knows the area. We won't find him. Figured I'd be a better help here."

"Get in the back room and catalogue chemicals." He could be useful back there, if he applied himself he reasoned. "Record amounts, don't touch anything."

"On it." And he was gone. Good. Without the chatty teen he could think. Looking around once again, he calculated what happened there. Aqualad and Superboy were separated in order to corner Scarecrow. Crane used his superior intellect (yes both boys were bright, but they were not geniuses and did not play mind games regularly) to confuse one of them, then distracted them with the chemical. He managed to escape while Kaldur was blinded and that was it. The young man used his powers to put down the chemical and stop it from spreading. Wise choice. Would have been better if it never happened but they were still learning stealth. Prevention of an outbreak and panic would do for now.

As he gathered samples, he could hear Artemis and Megan slipping in and taking a look around. Mentally sighing, he gave his orders. He really didn't need them there right then. "Gather up the others and return to the mountain. Artemis, head home."

"But-"

"It's a school night," the dark knight state as he finished gathering samples. Wally should be done with the list soon and then he'd be sent home as well. "Go home and get some rest. We'll continue tomorrow afternoon. Dismissed."

With a huff, the archer left, not even the slightest bit happy. Batman let it roll off him as he stood and turned toward the Martian, still in her human guise. "Why are you still standing there?"

She looked away awkwardly for a moment, then gave an angry pout. "I'm pretty sure we don't have to all come back to the cave right now. The boys aren't-"

"Tell them to get back to base immediately so they can zeta home," he reiterated. "The cave is a halfway point for a couple of them, and home for the rest." Carefully he put the samples he had in an evidence pouch and headed to the back room where the speedster was still working. "I'll debrief Aqualad as soon as I'm done here."

Megan nodded again, still pouting. "But I don't have to-"

"Your fight with Conner is a moot point right now." He cast her a chastising glare, scaring her slightly. "Put it aside and get to work. If you can't, stay out of Gotham."

Shocked into silence, the girl nodded and went her way. Giving a huff of frustration, he shook his head. Why were women so complicated? Teenaged ones seemed to run on irrational emotions while grown ones were rational, emotional, but rarely explained their reasoning. For a moment he thought of Catwoman and how he hardly had to say a word and she knew what had changed in his life. They truly were mysterious creatures, and no two were alike.

Careful not to disturb the scene further (Gordon and his men would be checking out the place later), he came to the back room where the supplies were kept and ventilated to call Wally away from it. Shouldn't he be done by now? He's helped his uncle in several cases before... As soon as Batman entered the room, he smelled something foul and whipped out a gasmask, covering his face. The room was not as ventilated as he thought it'd be. Not caring if he was disturbing anything now, he strode in and searched for the teen. Continual exposure would wreak havoc on his metabolism

It took thirty seconds, but the lad had been in the room already for at least ten minutes. He found Wally kneeling on the ground, hunched over and passed out, his face beet red and sweating. Not good signs, especially for speedsters. Without a second thought, the detective scooped up the teen and vacated the room as fast as he could. They fled the building before any more vapors could infect them, then settled the teen on the grass outside, stretching him out to help him fill his lungs with good air. The ginger was sweating bullets and moaning while Batman reached for his com.

"M'gann! Medical emergency. Call in your ship. Kid Flash needs immediate assistance."

"Wally?!" Roy's voice flew over the com. "What happened to him?!"

"She's on her way!" The Martian's voice stayed level, but he knew she was scared. They all were.

"Fumes."

"I thought his metabolism made it impossible for him to metabolize those properly," Conner stated over the link.

"Prolonged exposure," Batman explained, looking back into the building. He needed to know what was in there. "Metabolism only shortens the chemical's duration. Continual exposure will only make it worse."

"Ah cripes..." A peeved Roy could be heard running back to them. "Be there in five. Symptoms?"

"I'll meet you in-" Conner started only to get cut off.

"Scarecrow is still at large!" Kaldur hissed over the link. "We need to locate him and-"

"A teammate's life is more important than a criminal on the run who hasn't finished planning his next move." Batman's scowl deepened. Why were they even having this discussion? "Everyone regroup at my location. Miss Martian, bring the ship around but keep it cloaked. We're leaving."

"But Scarecrow-"

"That's an order!" he snapped back. How could he even think about the criminal when his friend was in danger?

"What's going on?!" Internally the man cursed as he heard Artemis' voice. Why had she turned her com back on? "Didn't someone say something about Wally?"

"Wally's-" Roy started but Batman cut him off.

"Artemis go home. You can't do anything here."

"But-"

"Full debrief tomorrow afternoon." He looked down on Wally's face and relaxed a little when he saw the color returning to the lad's face. "He's going to be alright, but we need to analyze what he's been exposed to. Everyone else to the bioship."

"Is he really going to be alright?" Conner's voice almost echoed in his ear, as the clone was only a few yards away as he said it. M'gann was close behind him in camouflage mode and he could see Roy closing in the distance. The man's eyes narrowed in thought as he confirmed his belief.

"Should be. Scarecrow's toxins are rarely lethal. It's what victims do that presents a danger."

"She's coming down now," the Martian informed them as the wind picked up around them. Fast ship.

Artemis sighed on the line, worried. "Alright. Tell me if something happens. Artemis out."

Batman nodded to himself, hoping this wouldn't turn into something larger than it was.

A/N: Again, sorry it's taken this long. I get easily distracted when it comes to stories (you should see how many I have on my desktop). I am going to finish this... eventually. And All my other stories that I've started. So... here's hoping I don't take another year to get the next chapter out!

For those who've followed 'Without Me', I bet you can guess what's wrong with Kaldur. If not... You can read it again and figure it out. For readers wanting a lot of family fluff, I'd advise checking out my Daddy Not bats series. Much fun. Yeah, that's where I've been. . whoops. TTFN!