Hello readers and merry Christmas! With this update, all of my stories will officially have 3 chappies! Yay! XD
(It's taken me long enough... =.=)
Alrighty then, so, after reading this, which one do you want updated? I will be putting up a poll that you can vote on, but you can also show your choice by reviewing! The story with the most reviews/votes will be my Young Justice focus!
P.S. You can also PM me if you've already reviewed. ;D
Thank you so much for all your support/encouragement! I'm so glad so many people are enjoying my stories.
I'm thrilled really, I never would have guessed that I would have this much feedback! T^T
SO!
Without further ado,
Read, vote, enjoy, REVIEW! XD
Thoughts...
/Link up/
"Talking."
Narration...
Chapter 3 – Smallest Of Things
Saying the battle was chaotic would be an understatement. War cries and shouts of aggravation and or pain shrouded the ware-house in a condensed fog, choking out any individual sound.
The only person not actively participating in the violent onslaught was a certain invisible Martian providing assistance from above.
Occasionally flicking men into the air with ease or slamming heads together, M'gann couldn't help but smirk at the looks on their faces. However, before she could really revel in her small victories, a strange force slammed into her. In moments, her world exploded into pain and screams as searing heat rippled along her skin.
On the ground, Connor's head snapped upwards at the disturbingly familiar cry. He could only look on in horror as the now visible M'gann plummeted into the fray below. His desperate shout of her name was lost in the uproar, and in his furious attempt to get to his fallen teammate, he failed to notice the mercenaries rounding on him. Before even leaving the ground, dozens of metal chains fell upon him, trapping him from multiple directions.
Meanwhile...
Robin was fighting for his life, literally.
They never end!
He thought angrily as he parried with yet another armed thug. Slipping in between the brute's legs, he wasted no time in clambering onto his now exposed back and slamming his fist into the man's head. He landed in a not so graceful crouch, leaning over the crumpled form of his umpteenth opponent. Exhaustion momentarily dulling his senses, he was only just barely able to dodge a crushing kick coming from his next assailant. Acrobatic instincts kicking in, he sprung agilely up into the air, flipping around the incoming limb before using it as a vaulting rod to propel himself higher.
The man's face contorted into one of surprise, his eyes widening as the small bird twisted midair and came shooting down upon him with scary accuracy. Robin almost felt sorry for the man as his legs slammed into his shoulders and an audible crack was heard. He nimbly landed on his hands and flipped back onto his feet, leaving his opponent howling in pain as he rolled on the floor.
Artemis was similarly pinned down.
Not having enough breathing room to aim she was just firing arrows as fast as she could in as many directions as she could. After a dozen or so exploding arrows she was beginning to gain some ground, but occasionally a thug would get too close and she would have to settle for bashing them around with her bow and fists. Such an opportunity presented itself when a mercenary snuck up from behind and trapped her arms to her sides.
"Not so tough now are you, huh kid?"
Artemis let out a ferocious snarl, half at herself for being careless and half at the criminal that held her, this action proved to be the only warning the man would receive before her head bashed his nose in. Dropping her instantly, his hands shot to his now blood covered face. She grinned evilly as she examined her work before leaping into the air and quickly slamming her boot into his neck. Before his body even hit the floor, she was on her feet and drawing her next arrow.
Through the insanity, Wally was also managing his own fights. Zipping to and fro, throwing punches here and there, the overall feeling of exhaustion was beginning to become overwhelming for him.
Where are they coming from?! Seriously! There is no way there were this many dudes to start with! And what is with these guys? It's like they're trained assassins or so-
His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as he had to do a limbo move in order to slide underneath a sword that was suddenly in front of him.
He skidded to stop in order to face his new attacker. He had short buzz-cut, muscles on top of muscles, and scars littering his entire body. His long sword remained extended before him, pointed at the yellow speedster threateningly.
Wally smirked smugly.
"Nice try but you're gonna have to do better than that if you actually want to hit me."
The man's next words sent chills down Kid Flash's spine and made the grin slip from his lips.
"Oh, I plan to."
And almost as fast as a speedster himself, his razor blade was exactly where the teen had been not a millisecond before. Even though he had dodged the blade, he couldn't help but notice the shred of spandex hanging from the edge of his weapon and missing from his side.
A shark like grin split the swordsman's face.
Something cold fell to the pit of Wally's stomach.
Oh dear...
On the other side of the ware-house, Aqualad was facing an identical problem.
With battles raging on around him, Kaldur and his opponent circled each other. His tattoos alight and entirely encompassing his arms, he faced a man with weapons although not water, were very similar to his own. His adversary bore dual blades, each as long as the arms that wielded them. His most recognizable facial feature would probably be a ragged scar that stretched from the right side of his mouth to his mangled ear, molding his face into an eternal snarl.
Finally, it was the Atlantian who made the first move. With a fierce roar he came down upon the metal blade waiting for him, the moment they clashed Kaldur swung to the side in hopes of nicking his foe. Sadly, he had anticipated this move and countered with one blade while the other jabbed at the teen's unprotected neck. Smoothly, Kaldur slipped his blades out of his grasp and brought them both to his defense.
They parried like that for a while, each attempting to get the upper-hand and gain some advantage of their opponent. However, while Aqualad kept his cool the mercenary grew impatient and growled with frustration.
This turned out to be his downfall.
Seeing his chance he picked up the pace, moving faster and faster, his swipes and jabs throwing the unprepared swordsman off balance. Kaldur smirked knowingly.
The man was not given the chance to linger on his foe's sudden change in demeanor because without warning, he lunged forward. With one sword he pushed the man's blades upwards and with the second, slipped through his guard and pried his weapons from his grasp.
Shock overtaking him, the now defenseless man fell backwards to the ground and was met with Aqualad's blades inches from either side of his neck.
Not bothering to see if he had any fight left in him, Kaldur didn't hesitate in slamming his "hilt" into the man's skull. He was out instantaneously. Having no time to rest, he wasted no time in plunging back into the fray, scanning the combatants as he went in the attempt to determine his team's condition. He barely had time to register the lack of M'gann and Superboy's predicament before he was forced to defend himself.
For every chain Connor ripped off two more took their place. Finally, he'd had enough. He poured all the strength he could muster into his legs, and like a cannon he shot into the air. For a moment he was suspended in mid-air, he took this opportunity to grab every last one of the chains that held him. With an evil grin on his face, he spun. Taken by surprise, many of the criminals were still gripping their chains, and their death-grip only tightened when they found themselves being flung through the air at breakneck speeds.
In the last few moments before he hit the ground, Superboy heaved his arms up, and slammed them down.
He emerged from the rubble looking angry, annoyed, and slightly worried. With the number of enemies cut down to nearly half with his last stunt, there were few to stop him.
Within a matter of moments he made it to M'gann. She lay crumpled in a heap, burned and damaged. After giving her a once-over, he reassured himself that she was overall fine, albeit a little fried.
Elsewhere, Wally was still running. He hadn't quite gotten over the fact that this guy was moving way too fast to be human. Running, leaping, diving, and jumping were getting old real fast, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore the growing sharp pangs of hunger. Ignoring his aching muscles, he kept going, attempting to throw an attack of his own every once and a while.
Finally, an idea struck him. He couldn't help but grin evilly.
He figured, this guy was reading his moves because he was anticipating him acting and reacting like a speedster. Well, he was gonna spice things up a little bit.
When moving at high speeds you've got to remember one thing above all others. Sudden turns and speed don't mix.
So, without warning, he dropped to the ground. His pursuer let out a noise of surprise as he realized too late that Kid Flash was on the ground and had a super powered attack waiting for him. His desperate attempts to slow down only resulted in fumbled footing and him falling right into Wally's "grasp" so to speak. In one smooth movement, he smashed his leg into his side, shoving all his breath out in a hollow gasp. His still form skidded to a halt at Wally's feet.
"That's what you get for taking me on you faker." He grinned triumphantly.
"Now then, to see how the others are doing." As he began scanning the ware-house for any signs of his team he momentarily let his guard down.
Kid Flash couldn't help the yelp that slipped through his lips as fire burned up his leg. Tremors of pain shook his burning limb and it only was a second before it gave out from underneath him. He shakily turned and found himself staring at the apparently perfectly fine swordsmen, blade extended and dyed with his blood. He smugly gestured to Wally's now sliced leg.
"Can't run away now can you?"
Wally let a flash of fear flicker across his eyes.
Having heard Kid's cry of pain, Robin turned to run to his friend's aid but was stopped by a voice. A voice that cut through all the noise, spoke directly to him.
"You didn't forget about me now, did you little bird?"
Robin growled; he spun immediately on the spot and was faced with none other than Marco Amravarti. "What did you bring us here for? What do you want?!"
Marco clicked his tongue, waging his finger slowly at him as though he were a child being scolded.
"So impatient. Don't worry. All will be reveled in time."
Robin scoffed. "And you honestly think I'm gonna wait around for that?" As soon as the last word left his mouth he lunged forward. He reared back for a roundhouse kick but just before he made contact, he was easily intercepted. Not missing a beat, he used his momentum to spring up and over the taller man; but once again, his moves were read and Marco casually dodged the blow meant for his head.
"Is that all? I'm disappointed in you Robin. I expected more."
Even one leg down Wally wouldn't go out without a fight. Making the swordsman believe he was defeated (like he had done to Wally himself), he waited for the right moment to strike. The man reached down, grabbing a handful of Kid's uniform and lifting him off the ground.
"What? Too scared to even defend yourself? Some hero you are, you're just a pathetic little kid too weak and stupid to save himself."
Wally muttered something under his breath making the thug's eyebrows raise in confusion.
"What did you say?"
There was silence for a moment before his still confidant voice rang out.
"I'm smart enough to trick you!" And with that, he began to barrage every inch of him that he could reach, pummeling him for all he was worth. It was enough. Still grinning like he had all the power in the world, the now sword less swordsman collapsed dropping Wally unceremoniously besides him.
Kid Flash let out a hiss of pain as he examined the cut. It wasn't as bad as he first thought but boy did it hurt! He opened the small compartment on his leg and began to unfold the bandages stored there. He hesitated a moment, not really wanting to put pressure on the wound but knowing he had too. He had to clench his teeth together in order to prevent himself from crying out again.
Once that was finished, he clambered to his feet and experimentally put weight on his injured leg. Seriously grateful for fast healing and the lack of thugs in this area, he began moving towards the crates at the far side of the ware-house in the hopes of being able to rest there until he could run again.
I hope everyone else is OK...
The look on Robin's face was the closest thing any human being could ever come to the bat-glare. With a yell of rage he leaped at Marco again but this time, he was not just countered, he was hit back. A strong fist collided with his right forearm, sending signals of pain rocketing everywhere. After the blow, Marco stood back, looking pleased very with himself.
Having been through worse, Robin shook off the hit with little effort, but in his attempts to ignore the pain, it slipped his notice the small pinprick of blood in the middle of the now forming bruise.
Because little did Robin know, that hidden in Amravarti's seemingly harmless glove lay a needle. A needle whose contents had just been emptied into Dick's unprotected bloodstream.
Objective accomplished, Marco saw no need to hang about. But to his surprise, Robin did in fact land a blow. While he was silently gloating, he had let his guard down and the little bird had been more than happy to take advantage of it. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and drew back blood. A toothy smirk split his face.
"Well done Robin, but I'm afraid we will have to cut this dance short. I'm on a tight schedule you know."
Dick's eyes widened as he realized what he was about to do.
"NO!"
But it was too late, simultaneously, all of the remaining mercenaries threw down smoke bombs. In the moment it took Robin to recover and in the minute it took for the gas to disperse, Marco and his men were gone.
Finally, for what seemed like the first time in forever, the Young Justice team were the only ones standing. Aqualad noted the disappearance of all their enemies including those knocked out before he took his team's appearances in. After a moment he addressed them all.
"Is everyone alright?"
M'gann, still being supported by Connor was the first to answer.
"I've been better but I think I'll be fine." She gave a small smile as reassurance. Connor stared at her critically before replying as well. "Yeah, I'm good too."
Kaldur turned to the other three. "Robin? Artemis? Kid Flash?"
Wally stood, hesitantly putting weight on his bandaged leg before flexing the already healing muscles for good measure. "Yep. Hungry, and gonna be sore tomorrow, but otherwise fine."
Artemis scoffed before placing her remaining arrow in her holster. "Seriously? We just about died and you're hungry? Your whole world revolves around food doesn't it?"
"Hey! It wasn't that bad! Don't be so melodramatic."
"Who are you calling melodramatic you drama queen?!"
The rest of the two's bickering was lost on their youngest member. He was staring hard at the ground, a deep scowl on his face. The scowl turned into a look of fury and with a cry of rage he kicked the weapon nearest to him as hard as he could.
"Dude! We totally kicked butt! We beat that Amfruity! Wha-"
"That's the thing! We didn't beat him! He didn't lure us here to brawl, Kid. He's planning something... I just can't figure out what it is!" Robin's fists clenched in his anger, frustration practically visible as it radiated off him. A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts; he glanced up and met Kaldur's eyes.
"Robin, tonight was a victory. We were victorious. Don't place judgment upon yourself where it is not deserved. We will get him, just not today."
Dick let his gaze fall, and found himself nodding his head solemnly. Aqualad smiled. "Good. Now, M'gann? Can you call the bioship?"
The Martian met his expectant eyes and smiled confidently. "Sure."
Within minutes the alien ship landed and they wasted no time in boarding. Robin however, took two steps and stumbled slightly. Quickly regaining his balance, he evened out his walk and no one noticed. He shook his head, his attempt to clear the cotton that had suddenly taken up residence didn't work and he scowled lightly. Writing it off as exhaustion, he kept moving, absently rubbing his forearm as he went.
What he didn't realize, was that with every beat of his heart, the poison was spreading farther through his body, and if he was anything, he definitely wasn't alright.
What do you think? Was it decent? Awkward? Rushed? If you thought so please review! That way I can improve!
Also, If you liked, please do check out my other stories! And vote at the poll which one you want to see updated. C:
Alrighty! Be seeing you in whatever story get's chosen!
Good day to you all!
~Automail-gHost :D
