The Legion
"We have much to catch up on darling daughter." Dr. XYZ purred, running his fingers through her strawberry blonde hair.
She stiffened with anguish. All the hairs on her neck stood on end. It took every ounce of her energy not to break every single bone in his hand. A side door opened, as Lex Luthor entered. A flash of a smirk appeared on his face when his eyes landed on Chelsea. Who knew there could be so many people she hated all in one place.
"What's the big idea Grodd?" questioned Sinestro.
"That girl is our enemy. Are we using her as bait?" Cheetah wondered.
"Hardly," Gorilla Grodd replied, "Starlight is our newest addition to the legion."
"You expect us to trust a Justice League member?" Star Sapphire asked, crossing her arms in disbelief.
"I knew there would be some skepticism, but fear not," Grodd assured his teammates, "she is loyal. If you sense her betrayal… by all means… kill her."
Enough smiles spread across the room to make Chelsea's stomach shudder. Her expression never faltered from irritation. She was trying to keep herself from appearing afraid. She felt more uneasy being reunited with Dr. XYZ than all of the others who surrounded her. When she glanced at Lex Luthor, he was giving her a hard look. Why would Lex Luthor agree to this? Grodd had something on him, or perhaps, something he wanted. She tucked that idea away for now, but would find a way to figure that out later.
"Would anyone like to escort our latest member to her quarters?" Grodd asked.
No one said a word. They were disgusted by her even being here. None of them wanted to be near her.
"Very well," Grodd accepted, "Luthor, if you would please."
Chelsea's teeth grinded together. This was another test. Pair her with Lex and see if she doesn't pop his cueball head off. She approached Luthor slowly and followed beside him as they exited the room and started down a hallway. Chelsea tried to focus. She made mental note of the layout.
"So how'd you manage to fool the monkey?" questioned Lex, aware she wasn't the least bit loyal to the situation.
Chelsea remained silent. There was a reason one could plead the fifth, though staying silent made her feel more like a guilty criminal. Suddenly her stomach started its rollercoaster ride of nausea once more. She squinted her eyes, but tried not to seem fazed. She gave Lex a once over, but held close to her silence.
"That doctor is your father?" he asked curiously.
"He's not a doctor… and he's certainly not my father." Chelsea told him. Perhaps replying to that would only allow Lex to dive deeper under her skin, but she wanted no affiliation with Dr. XYZ, "Why are you here Lex? I thought flying solo was more your style."
The corner of Lex's lip curled up with amusement, "Always trying to play detective aren't you… even so…" he paused, "I quite enjoyed your display against Superman. How often do you two disagree?"
It was like a reverse interrogation from both sides. One was trying to out question the other, "You planned that whole scene. You knew he would be suspicious of you and tried to tarnish his reputation."
"That is incorrect," he told her, "I never anticipated you." He stopped walking. A door slid open. It was a small cramped room, not even big enough to be considered a dorm.
"Did they remove the closet tag off the door before my arrival?" wondered Chelsea skeptically.
"Face it blondie," Lex told her, "none of us will ever trust you. You may have some ulterior motive for wanting to be here, but you've taken a ludicus risk."
Chelsea looked him over again, "Then I'll fit right in. None of you trust each other. I know you villain types. You're all out for yourselves… and the wheels on the bus go round and round." She rolled her eyes and pulled the switch down on the single source of light in her "room". It was dim and flickering. The door closed behind her, putting a wall between herself and Luthor.
Backing herself against the wall she scooted to the floor and bawled her body up. Her body ached, she was ready to vomit again, and she started to question this idea. Not too much later the door slid open again. Her father towered over her, casting a shadow over her small frame. He looked as sinister as ever. His fake identity masking his true one. She expected he would be the next one she would see, "Save your breath. I have nothing to say to you."
He chuckled, "I'm afraid that is not an option."
All of the original seven were gathered around the row of many monitors trying desperately to find clues to point them at their missing member.
"How can we help?" Captain Marvel asked from behind them. Beside him was Green Arrow, Huntress, Booster Gold, and Supergirl.
"We appreciate your willingness to help search, but we ask that you standby for further instruction." Superman told them.
J'onn and Bruce sat at monitors side by side viciously typing in as much information as they could muster.
Wally paced back and forth behind them, "Come on! Does anyone have any theories?"
"She must know something we don't." Shayera murmured, "J'onn have you tried telepathic communication?"
"My attempts to make a connection with her have not been successful." J'onn said apologetically.
Bruce sat back in his chair with his hands folded over his mouth.
"Got something, Batman?" questioned Superman.
Bruce's eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath through his nose that raised and lowered his chest, "Unfortunately…"
"Care to share?" asked Wally.
"Chelsea's stubborn, but she isn't a fool. She wouldn't blindly march into a death trap, especially if her current condition is less than adequate." he paused, thinking it over, "I feared the worse, and with J'onn's inability to reach her on a telepathic level, I came to one conclusion…"
Wally's eyes widened, "No… that's not possible." he understood exactly what Bruce was getting at.
"What?" asked Captain Marvel curiously.
"Dr. XYZ…" Bruce and Wally said in unison.
"How..?" Diana wondered, her stomach suddenly flipping and twisting into knots.
Superman furrowed his eyebrows, "If that's true, she could literally be anywhere. Grodd must have recruited Dr. XYZ to create a separate dimension for the villains to control."
"Who knows what kind of power they could possess then…" John Stewart commented with a sigh.
"So she was threatened and that forced her to come along?" Wally guessed.
"No," Bruce said confidently, "she was recruited. I have no doubt about that. The college students said she attacked the boy whose heart was momentarily stopped. She believed there was something to be gained to go with them. In doing so, however, she had to prove her loyalty. She faked killing him, unable to actually do it. There is still a piece of this puzzle we are missing. The most important one…"
"Perhaps he threatened us? Last time Chelsea did something with such stakes, Dr. XYZ threatened to kill us." Wally said, rubbing his chin.
"It's bigger than that." Bruce's eyes widened, "Chelsea was sick… maybe that's important… Shayera found her passed out on the floor of the bathroom… perhaps she got dizzy…" he clutched his chin in his grasp, trying to think harder.
A siren started to blare over the computer systems. All of the screens changed to the image of Gotham. There Chelsea was shown standing in front of a building, as it crumbled to the ground. Bruce stood up. Everyone watched with awe. Her and a few other baddies moved onto the next building, trying to bring it down.
"What's the plan?" asked Captain Marvel.
"Original members, this is our mission. Others, standby for further instruction." All seven stepped on the teleporter system and disappeared.
They appeared nearby to the fall of another building, "Predictable as always." Gorilla Grodd mused, watching the league members approach, "Give them the welcome they deserve." Star Sapphire, Solomon Grundy, Sinestro, and Copperhead sprung into action. Chelsea flew above, watching them charge her former teammates, "Starlight… is there a reason for your hesitation?"
"I'm finding my target." she said simply, trying to figure out the best way to make this believable. She figured her father must have told Grodd all that he knew about her, which had to include the intimate connections she had with Batman and The Flash. If she avoided them, they would know she wasn't truly loyal. If she charged them first, she would be viewed overzealous. She was in a simultaneous chess match with each and every member of this organization. Any slip up would throw a red flag. She flew forward and down quickly as she could. Her eyes ignited as she slammed her body into Superman. Once she had him down she grabbed onto his cape and took to the sky, knocking Wonder Woman out of the air with his body. Everyone was surprised by her efforts. She wasn't holding back.
She moved on to her next target, focusing a light blast to disarm Shayera from her mace. J'onn slipped into a serpent form and wrapped himself around the girl. In that moment, he tried to dig into her mind while he had her restrained, "Chelsea, I sense nothing clouding your judgment. Why are you attacking your friends?"
Chelsea focused her mind, shattering the connection J'onn had established. That with a glowing blast from her body caused his to recoil, as he plummeted to the ground. Green Lantern was busy being double teamed by Star Sapphire and Sinestro. She moved passed him, flying low and fast, knowing it would attract Wally to her side. As she predicted, he ran beside her, "Chelsea, what are you doing?"
"Putting on a show. Think fast," she warned, blasting him into a couple of nearby cars. She tried her best not to show the sadness she felt, by hurting Wally. She already did so much to hurt him. She felt Superman zeroing in on her from above. She was so happy Bruce was busy with some of the other baddies so she wouldn't have to lay a hand on him. Now was the time. She needed to get Clark to do what he did best, no matter what the cost. Flipping her body mid-flight she came whirling quickly toward Superman. She could calculate it. In the last second, she stopped her momentum, allowing Superman to send her spiraling through a couple more buildings and spill out onto the ground. She was out cold.
Grodd did not expect her to go down so quickly, "Let's retreat for now!" he instructed, "Copperhead, grab the girl." In two blinks they were gone, taking Chelsea's broken body with them.
"What was that?" John Stewart wondered.
"She attacked us." Diana murmured.
"There was no mind-control. She attacked with intent." J'onn said in his usual sad, deep, voice.
"She said she was putting on a show," Wally told them, "she warned me. It's still Chels, guys. I'm sure of it!"
"She wanted me to hurt her." Clark murmured, "At the last minute she held back so I would hurt her." he slammed his fist into some of the rubble.
"She helped bring down two buildings!" Shayera growled with frustration.
"Two buildings set for demolition on Monday." Bruce finally spoke up.
"How do you know?" Diana asked curiously.
"This area is going to be restored. It hasn't been a hospitable environment in almost two years. Only a Gotham resident would know that… she led them here. Knowing full well that what would seem like destruction would actually be beneficial and not hurt anyone, while also getting our attention. She didn't display her newfound abilities a single time. She must not have exposed such knowledge to them, so she would have the upper hand." Bruce explained, "She's doing her best to look like she's on their side… but she isn't. She had to make it believable, provoking Superman. If one of us brought her down it would be suspicious, but making the Boy Scout angry enough to strike her down… that was enough for them."
Chelsea regained consciousness a couple of hours later. She was lying on a medical bed. When she sat up, her head was foggy. In retaliation for the beating she received her body started to purge itself of stomach acid. She choked, vomited off the side of the bed, and tried to regain her breath while tears surfaced in her eyes.
Dr. XYZ approached her, giving her a dixie cup filled with water. She was hesitant to drink it, but her body was dehydrated and she was shaking. There wasn't much more he could do to her. He looked her in the eyes, "How long have you been feeling this way?"
"It comes and goes," she admitted simply, with no energy to refuse to speak to him.
"Quite the attack you took just to appear to be on our side." he grinned.
She crushed the small cup in her hand and handed it back to him. Forcing herself to her feet, she started down a narrow walkway to the only door leading out of this room.
"Whose is it?" he asked her.
She paused and looked over her shoulder with a confused look. The door opened in front of her. Lex stood there with his hands behind his back.
"I think I'm going to be sick again." she said with dry sarcasm.
"Grodd instructed me to keep watch over you for the night." Lex said lowly.
Lex was better company than her cryptic father. She walked out of the room and found herself once again wandering down a long hallway beside Luthor, "What's your angle Luthor? What does Grodd have on you?"
A grin flashed over the bald man's face, "You're smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out. The real question is… why are you here?"
She knew Luthor wasn't fooled by her acts of loyalty. It takes a liar to know a liar. They made their way back to her room. When she went inside, Lex decided to keep watch over the room from the outside. She laid flat on the floor. It felt like a prison cell. There was hardly enough room for her to lay straight. Her eyes snapped shut, trying to concentrate on anything, but the situation.
Back at The Watch Tower the gang felt more lost now than ever. They sat at their table, trying to figure out their next move, but it seemed their encounter only made for more questions.
J'onn's eyes flickered, "J'onn… can you hear me?" he heard a voice in his head.
"Chelsea, is that you?" questioned the Martian Manhunter telepathically.
"Yes… I'm so sorry. I know I hurt you, but I had to create a link between us myself in order to still have contact with you. Dr. XYZ only blocked links from coming in, not out." Chelsea explained.
"Friends, Chelsea has reached out to me." he informed aloud, then continued his conversation with Chelsea as the others leaned in, as if that would help them hear, "I, as well as I'm sure the others, are just happy to hear you're safe. We have been very worried."
"Tell the others I am very sorry for striking them. J'onn, they have a small army of villains here. Dr. XYZ has created a dimension hidden in plain sight to conceal their presence. I think I can sabotage this base. I just have to find the core of the dimension and wipe it out. Once I do, I want you to lock onto my location. I think I'll have time to explore tonight, with some persuasion." Chelsea explained.
"Please be careful and stay safe." J'onn told her.
"And J'onn… please tell Bruce… that I love him." that was the last thing she said. Her eyes sprung open. Crawling over to the door, she rested her back against it, "You still there Luthor?"
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
"I want to make you a deal." Chelsea said.
Author's Notes: I got such nice feedback for the last chapter. I wanted to say thanks to the readers who took the time to leave me a nice little response. It put a smile on my face. Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing. See you at the next chapter.
