Vandal Savage switched on the view screen. For once he was glad that the scrambling code that the Light used obscured the face of the person on the other line. On the few occasions he had met Neil Richards in person, he had been dressed in awful attire that assaulted the eyes. However, the man was one of the world's experts in mind control, and after the fight on the Watchtower, he needed all the help he could get.
"Anything I can do for you, mate?"chirped Mad Mod's distinct accent.
"The Brain notified me that you had an encounter with the team of sidekicks. Do you have them detained?"
"I've got them locked up tight. I'm subjecting them to my own special brand of education right now."
Savage smiled. "Good. Be careful with them. They are more dangerous than they let on. I can't afford to have them interfering with Phase 2."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist. When I'm through with them they won't know their own names."
"How do you plan to deal with any potential escape attempts?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. A couple have gotten out, but they'll be recaptured faster than you can say 'Geronimo.' I've got the finest in home security. Traps, robots, hypnosis, etc."
"We may choose to send you reinforcements."
"Whatever floats your boat, mate." Mad Mod sounded a bit disinterested.
Classic mistake, thought Savage.
Vandal Savage's tone grew sterner. "I'm sure you understand that you know too much for us to let them capture you."
Mad Mod chuckled nervously and hung up.
####
"So what exactly are we going to do? Wander around this place until we find our teammates and hope we don't run into any more traps?" asked Artemis, her tone sounding a bit exasperated.
"When you put it like that it doesn't sound great, but what else can we do?" Wally replied. "I can't wait to leave this place. Even the floor patterns are giving me a headache."
He gestured to the diamond patterns in the floor that garbled depth perception. As he took a step, his foot passed though empty air and his whole body tumbled over an edge. The checkerboard floor created a visual cliff illusion, hiding the fifty foot drop from Wally's eyes until it was too late. Wally slid over the edge, but Artemis grabbed his wrist. She pulled his body up with a heave.
"You could lose some weight" she said with a grunt as she plopped him back on solid ground.
Wally shot her an annoyed glance. "We've been over this before. The speed powers give me a faster metabolism."
"Yeah, that's what they all say."
The intercom cracked to life, and Mad Mod's voice rang out in the hallways. "You really fell for that old trick? If I had known this is what I'd be dealing with, I wouldn't have bothered with the other rubbish. The only reason I used this one was so I could make a "mind the gap" joke, but this takes the fun out of it. You lot don't have a prayer."
Artemis fired a zip line arrow and the both sped across the gap. She said, "This place is a maze. We need some idea of where to look for the others. "
They walked further down the hall, staying on their toes. From across the corner, they heard a series of loud cracks, followed by a thunderous crash.
"That sounded like gunfire." said Wally.
"I know what gunfire sounds like. Come on." said Artemis, grabbing the speedster's wrist.
Nervously, he said, "Wait, you want to run towards the gunfight? What if it's a trick?"
"You got a better idea?" Artemis shot back.
They turned the corner and came to a large pair of mahogany doors. They pressed their ears against the door and listened. They made out the sound of faint, mischievous laughter.
"I'd know that laugh anywhere!" shouted Wally, as he kicked open the doors. The pair stepped inside and saw rows and rows of books on shelves that twisted and turned, forming a labyrinth of books. Artemis took one look at the maze and said, "Well, screw this."
She began climbing on top of the shelves, and was followed by Wally. They ran towards the sound of battle. They looked down and saw Robin fighting two robotic suits of armor. Mad Mod was standing off to the side, brandishing a small black pistol. He was wearing a black robe, a pointy black hat, and had wide circular glasses.
"Hold still you little brat!" growled Mad Mod as he struggled to aim the Walther PPK at the teenager. Robin back flipped over a swinging sword and bounced onto one of the shelves, before springing off and flipping onto one of the robots. He slipped two explosive discs between the chinks in its shoulder armor. He slid off the mechanical knight as its torso flamed up behind him.
He pulled out two batarangs and threw them at Mad Mod. The man smiled as he swung his cane upwards, neatly lodging both blades in the ends.
Mad Mod fired repeatedly at Robin as the young acrobat danced out of the line of fire. The books on the shelves burst into tatters and several shots struck the remaining suit of armor, knocking its head off. Mad Mod kept shooting until he heard the bangs turn into clicks. He laughed loudly as he tossed the empty pistol at Robin, striking him in the forehead. Robin dropped to the ground as Mad Mod pranced off.
"Get back here you slimy little freak!" yelled Wally as he ran after him.
Mad Mod grabbed the nearest book, a mammoth volume called The History of the English Speaking People. He slammed it across Wally's jaw, sending the speedster careening into a desk. Mad Mod reached for a book on a nearby shelf, which swung around him as he pulled it.
Artemis ran up to the shelf and pulled the same book. When she did, some small sparks discharged from it, and several hundred volts of electricity coursed through her body. She was flung across the room and landed on top of Wally.
"What brings you here, beautiful?" asked Wally, still sounding a little dazed. Artemis almost slapped him before she remembered that they were maybe sort of dating, and his cheesy lines were actually earnest now.
Robin stood up and rubbed the bruise on his forehead. "I don't suppose you two lovebirds have found any of the others yet?"
Wally sighed. "No, not yet. We only just got out ourselves."
"If by we you mean just me." retorted Artemis. "I got myself out. You needed me to rescue you."
Robin rolled his eyes. His was not looking forward to the rest of this mission. This was going to be bad enough without these two working out their aggressive affections for each other. How could a simple recon mission go so wrong? And of a fashion designer, for crying out loud!
####
Superboy felt his willpower fading. He and M'gann were chains together on Mad Mod's entertainment center. The room was filled with screens of various sizes, all displaying hypnotizing patterns. Across from M'gann was a lit candle. Right in front of him was a glowing green shard of Kryptonite.
The familiar pain of the rock sunk into every nerve of his body. In addition to the burning sensation in all of his nerves was a gradually increasing soreness. With every passing second he became more and more tired. His urge to break the chains was struggling against his urge to pass out.
"Well at least some of the kids know how to mind their manners." Mad Mod stepped in, now wearing a tweed jacket and a bowtie, with a fez sitting atop the center of his head.
"None of that breaking out, wrecking my home, destroying my property. Unlike your friends, nothing but mindless obedience."
He leaned in closer to Superboy, looking him directly in the eyes. Right now, there was nothing the boy wanted more than the heat vision the shields had granted him.
"That's right, little ducky. Just give into the fatigue. Trust me, free will is overrated."
The last thing Superboy remembered hearing was Mad Mod's laughter as the world faded into a swirling black and white blur.