Gotc: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII everybody!!!!!!!!!!!! So I'm leavin' soon to head off to my dad's but I wanted to put up another chap before I left.
Ace: She doesn't want to pack. Or do laundry.
Gotc: Who does? Anyway, I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed. I really do appreciate the feedback. You guys are the ones reading this, so it's nice to hear what you have to say, even if it is criticism. But, for those of you who think Batman was a bit out of character in the last few chaps, well…..hopefully it'll make some sense soon.
Ace: You don't do anything that makes sense….
Gotc: Uh huh. And I'm sure that loading the microwave with tinfoil was your shining moment of genius too.
Ace: Well you wouldn't buy fireworks for the fourth of July….
Gotc: sigh Yes, and now I need to completely remodel the kitchen….. But enough of that. Squeaky!!!!!!!!!!
Squeaky: pops head out of suitcase Squeak?
Gotc: AWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE SOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUTE!!!!!!!
Ace: Humph.
Squeaky: Squeak. (You're just jealous. JL not owned here. Look elsewhere.)
Gotc: Yep. Enjoy the chapter!! Oh, and I'm gonna try to make the action scenes not too confusing for ya too!
Rise of the Guardian: Ancient Power, Modern Age
CHAPTER 9: Digging Up the Past
Ace checked Diana's monitors one last time before he faced the League."I'm guessing you already have most of the story figured out," Ace said.
"We know you were the fifteen time Martial Arts Champion," Batman said, "until you disappeared five years ago, after an incident that left one participant dead."
Ace's whole body visibly tensed as Batman continued.
"And that you're looking for Argon. What we don't know is why, or how you both seem to know of each other."
Ace stared off into space for a moment, lost in the past. He drew in a deep breath before he began.
"Yes, I was the Champion. And Argon and I do know each other. We were both trained in the way of martial arts by the same man," He said heavily, " We were good friends for a very long time."
"Why not now?" Superman asked.
"Don't act oblivious," Ace said reaching into his jacket and producing a faded newspaper clipping, "You've seen this before."
"That's the same article J'onn and I found," Batman thought.
"Argon and I haven't been friends," Ace said with a mix of anger and sorrow in his voice, "since the day an 18 year-old kid didn't make it out of the semi-final round of that tournament alive."
Before anyone could think of a reaction, the groggy rush of air bubbles fighting their way to the surface of the suspension tank caught their attention.
"Well, looks like someone is finally coming around," Ace said quickly changing the subject, and began to drain the thick fluid from the chamber.
Diana's legs couldn't hold up under her weight, and she collapsed in to the waiting arms of her friends.
"What happened?" She asked groggily
"You cut your hand, and a large amount of Shade managed to get into you system and it nearly killed you," Ace said checking her pulse, "I gave you an antidote."
"You really gave us a scare," Superman said with a relived sigh as she finally managed to stand on her own, "How are you feeling?"
"Like Cerberus's chew toy," She groaned holding her head.
"Glad you're feeling better," Ace remarked, "You're probably going to be a little queasy for the next few minutes, until you get your bearings back from that tank."
"Is that all?" She asked
"It only takes blood thirty seconds to circulate through the body," Ace said, "So it won't take long for the antidote to neutralize the rest of the Shade in your body."
"Good," she said, "The sooner the better."
Ace chuckled for a moment, then his brow furrowed in deep concentration.
"What's wrong?" Batman asked noticing the sudden change.
"There's someone coming," He said quickly, going to Diana and helping her to walk, "We have to go. Now."
"What?!" Flash exclaimed, "How do you know?"
"He's right," J'onn said, a faint glow from his eyes quickly fading.
"Is there any other way out of here?" Superman asked Batman
"No, the door on the third stage is the only way in or out," He said rushing to help Ace.
"Forget it!" Ace said, "We're not going to make it out of here in time. Everyone hide!"
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A man carefully crept into the lab, his eyes scanning every dark corner. His footsteps made no noise as he explored each and every story with painstaking detail. At last he seemed satisfied that there was no one else in the lab but himself. He pulled back his sleeve, exposing a communicator strapped to his wrist.
"They're not here," he said in a low voice, "they must have found another way out."
"No. They're still there. There's no way they would have been able to make it out of this room without you noticing. They're still there, find them."
Suddenly, Ace exploded from the shadows. The man ducked at the last second as Ace's fist shot towards his head. His leg shot out and knocked Ace's out from under him.
But Ace planted his hand, before he hit the ground and swung himself around into the assailant. The man crashed hard into the wall, as Ace started to charge him again. This time, he pulled a long, thin, blade from a hidden sheath on his thigh. He slashed at Ace the second he was in range, and struck his target, though not in the way he had intended. Ace had caught the blade in his hand, blood trickling down his arm from where the edge had cut into his hand.
"Nice try." He growled, wrenching the knife from the man.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," The man replied before pulling a needle from his pocket, and injecting himself.
Ace swore to himself as the man almost immediately passed out. He left him slumped against the wall, as he rejoined the others coming out of hiding.
"Well, I certainly see why you were the Martial Arts Champion for fifteen years," Hawkgirl remarked.
"What? I didn't convince you the last time I wiped the floor with you?" Ace said starting to tear a piece of his shirt for his hand.
"Here, use this," Batman said tossing him a small bottle from his belt.
Ace rubbed the contents into his hand, and the bleeding stopped, and pain subsided.
"Thanks," he said handing it back.
"So what now?" Green lantern asked.
"That man was sent by Argon," Ace said heading for the door, "He knows where we are. So I intend to find out where he's hiding."
"And how are you going to do that?" Superman asked
"Gotham P.D. sent two shade dealers to Arkham," Batman said picking up on Ace's plan.
"I thought you said they were unresponsive," Diana said
"They are," Ace said, "But Argon doesn't like to leave loose ends."
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Argon sat back in his chair and shut off his side of the communicator. Zariah swiveled in his seat to face Argon.
"So they're going to Arkham. What should we do now? If he finds us-"
"Then we'll just have to make our move before he moves on us. Won't we?" Argon said with a devilish chuckle.
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Gotc: Ok, sorry peoples. I didn't mean for it to be so long for my update. I stared my job and have been working close to 40 hours a week. But I really will try to be better about updating! Well time to go back to work! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!