Perfect as the wing of a bird may be,

it will never enable the bird to fly if unsupported by the air.

~Ivan Pavlov

Chapter 7

When Wally regained consciousness, he was only aware of one thing: pain. He wasn't sure about where the pounding headache had come from, and when he tried to remember, it made his head spin. His mind was all fuzzy, and it didn't help that it seemed to be about 100 degrees wherever he was. Where was he, anyways?

Ignoring the heat, Kid Flash opened his eyes. He appeared to be in dark, black room. He was bound, arms behind his back, to a metal pole that went from the ceiling to floor. It was just rope; he should be able to break out of it easily. Unfortunately, he couldn't at the moment. His legs were folded under him, which put him in an uncomfortable position. He straightened his legs, and they just reached the wall across from him, and it moved- wait, moved? He kicked it experimentally. It wasn't a wall at all; it was a black sheet. Why was a sheet hung around him?

Slowly, everything started to come back to the speedster. The headache was starting to fade, but it still hurt like heck. The hot air still made him tired; maybe if the temperature could just drop a little, it would be easier for him to think straight. He was only half awake, and again, the heat wasn't helping at all. He just wanted to go back to sleep...

All fantasies of slipping back into unconsciousness was shattered as a sudden light flashed in his face, and ice-cold water was dumped on his head. The liquid soaked right through his suit to his skin, and he was drenched head to toe. Looking up, his eyes starting to adjust to the light, he could just make out a purple suit. "Good, you're awake!" a cheerful voice said, and it could only belong to one person.

Joker; of course. The psychopath had found the heroes as they made their way into his hideout. In less than a few minutes, they had all be taken down. The only reason Batman had been defeated was because Robin had been the one attacking.

Anger and concern bubbled inside the teen as he glared at the clown. Where was his best friend? Was the man hiding him from them? The sheets were torn down, and less than a second later, he received a stinging slap to the face. He allowed a single cry to escape, which was more out of shock than pain.

"No glaring at Uncle J! Especially when he hasn't killed you yet." Joker said, turning his back to Kid Flash. The teen got a good look around the room for the first time. Next to him, Roy was tied to another pole, in the same way he was. Next to the archer was M'Gann, then Kaldur'ahm. The martian was unconscious. He guessed Conner was next to him; he was the only one he couldn't see. He then saw Batgirl, Artemis, Matt, and Redbird. They were each tied to a separate one, and each pole was about 5-6 feet away from each other. Someone was missing, though-

"Where's Batman?" Wally asked, looking up at the Joker.

The green-haired man turned around, grinning as usual. "Harley Q is taking care of him." he said passively, before turning back to the center of the room. For the first time, he noticed what was there. It was Robin, sitting in a random blue chair. His expression was emotionless.

"You know, he could have broken away from the control whenever he wanted." Joker suddenly said. Kid Flash looked at him, curious about what the psycho meant. He just grinned further. "The chip's power was lessened just two days ago; either he doesn't care about breaking free anymore and he's given up, or he's gone!" he said, with sickening happiness.

"You're wrong!" Roy suddenly roared. "He does care, he hasn't given up, and he is not gone."

While the archer yelled at the Joker, the speedster looked around again. As far as he could tell, everyone but Miss M was conscious. He let his eyes wander around to Robin's look alike, and was shocked to see him pass Matt a knife. Where the heck had he gotten a knife? Was the Joker really stupid enough to leave one just laying around? He hid a grin. Apparently he was, but who cares? It was just an advantage for Young Justice. As the knife was passed on, he turned to see Roy had noticed too.

"I'm sure Robin is so glad you're here." Joker's voice caught his attention again, and he looked at the pale man. "I'm sure he missed his friends, and you've missed him. You're lucky you'll be here to see him finally snap. I often wonder what would happen if this bird finally broke." he said, as the knife was passed to Conner.

"Where's my sister!" Matt suddenly called out, his voice echoing around. Whether he just wanted to know, or distracting the Joker from the clone, he didn't know. It didn't matter, though. It kept him from noticing the knife being passed around. As the Joker turned to answer, Conner tossed it to Batgirl. Wally waited for the sound of the knife clanging to the floor... and was relieved when she actually caught it.

Once she was free, the knife was tossed to Aqualad, who freed himself quickly, before slowly and carefully sliding it to Red Arrow. Unfortunately, once he picked up the knife, he dropped it. The blade hit the metal pole he was bound to, immediately attracting the attention of the Joker.

"We-ell! Someone's being naughty!" He said, walking over and picking up a knife. After looking at it for a second, he lashed down and drove the knife into the archers stomach. Roy let out a gasp of shock and pain as his wound began to bleed, and the knife was yanked out.

Seconds later, the Joker was met with a punch to the face. He only staggered a few feet before regaining his balance, and turning to his attacker. Redbird and Matt were now standing, and both looked ready to fight. The clown just grinned. "Fun; will I get to break two birds in one day?" he asked them, still holding the now bloody knife.

"Don't count on it." Rick snapped before Joker lunged at him, and the teen just barely managed to flip out of the way. Focused on the three in front of him, Wally didn't notice the Atlantean undoing his bonds.

"Thanks." he said, once he realized he was free. He sped over to where Red Arrow was. "Are you alright!"

Roy attempted to glare at the speedster. "I was just stabbed." he said, his hand pressed against his wound. "I'm in perfect health." he added sarcastically. Wally was about to reply when he saw Harley and Kelsey run into the room out of the corner of his eye.

He turned around to face them. Kelsey's target was obviously he brother, while Harley's eye locked on the speedster. Why was it always him? To make things worse, she had her flamethrower. Out of all the weapons she could have... why couldn't it just be a knife like her insane boyfriend?

"Night night, sweetie!" she said, and seconds later, his arm was on fire.

The speedster was immediately panicking. "Agh! Put it out! Put it out!" he yelled, running in circles. After he was yelling for a while, he was doused in water for the second time that day. He froze mid-run, to see Aqualad standing near broken pipes, water drizzling out of them. "Er... Thanks." he said, just as Harley came at him again. As she went to turn on her flamethrower, it sputtered and then died. He grinned as she tossed it to the side, and pulled out a knife.

She smiled at him. "I'll give you a smile you'll never forget!" she said, as she slashed at him. He rolled his eyes, and ran by her, grabbing the knife, and then running back to trip her. Artemis and Aqualad ran over to take care of her. Conner was over with M'Gann, and the martian was beginning to regain consciousness.

Matt was dealing with Kelsey. Obviously, the boy didn't want to hurt her, which the speedster understood completely. She was his only remaining family, and his sister.

His eyes quickly scanned the area; Red Arrow was in the corner, out of the way. Every now and then, he would attempt to use his bow and arrow to shoot someone down. It didn't work. Batgirl was fighting the Joker. The red-head was about to go and help when a black shape practically flew past him; probably nearly as fast as his Uncle. It took him a moment to realize that is was Batman. He wasn't even remotely surprised; it was the damn Batman.

When he saw a familiar robot out of the side of his vision, he turned. The bad thing was, it was Amazo. The good thing was, a hammer was lodged in its head, and it had just crashed to the floor. Once it was on the ground, he looked up to see M'Gann and Conner, grinning.

"I hate this android almost as much as I hate monkeys." he said, walking over the robot with the martian. Just as he got over, a certain bird attacked the speedster.

"Dude!" he yelled out of habit, and moved out of the way, behind him. When he stopped running, he saw that Rick had launched an attack on the Boy Wonder. He could tell he was reluctant to attack the youngest.

Megan looked worried. "Don't hurt him!" her voice echoed through their minds.

Rick answered almost immediately. "I may have to; would it be bad if I just hit him in the head with a pipe?"

"Yes! You could give him a concussion!"

"Why not just try knockout gas?" A voice behind them asked. Turning around, they saw Batgirl. Batman obviously had the Joker under control. She threw something at the Boy Wonder, and smoke filled the air. The teens were careful not to breathe it in.

When the smoke cleared moments later, Robin fell to the ground. Miss Martian was first to float over and check if he was alright. Joker and Batman had disappeared, and Harley was tied to a pole herself with the same bonds that had held the heroes. Everything was silent now, unless you count the occasional crashes from who-knows-where. Even the Jokers girlfriend was quiet-

"No!" A broken cry suddenly shattered the silence.

Word Count: 1901

I didn't have much time to write... sorry.

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Happy Thanksgiving! XD

RIDDLE:

What's blue and covered with feathers?

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