Okay, it's been so long, and I'm sorry… Senior year, college applications, everything else, and among all of that, my computer completely crashed, and I didn't get a new one til Christmas… It had all of my stories on it and stuff…. For those of you who don't know, I keep outlines of all my stories so that I can plan them and they won't burn out, but I lost all of that and had to start ALL OVER… . Anyways, without further ado, I give you Ten Little Superheroes, Chapter 3.
…..
Seven.
…
"No," Roy said loudly. "No, you're wrong. She can't be…" he tried. "You're just wrong." He fumbled over everyone else to get to Dinah. "You just did it wrong. You're supposed to check her wrists, too," he offered, trying to keep from freaking out, and being rather unsuccessful. He pressed his fore and middle fingers to her wrists, both of them, and then did it again. Then he checked her neck again.
"Roy, I am sorry, but I have already checked. She is…" Kaldur tried.
"Dead," Artemis heard Wally mutter under his breath. "Like a canary in a coalmine…"
Roy ignored everyone, continuing his frantic search for a pulse that just wasn't there. After a good five minutes of searching, checking, listening, and repeating, he finally gave up. He let out a long, shaky breath and hung his head in despair, confirming what everyone else already knew.
M'gann put a hand on his shoulder, which he rejected immediately.
"I want to know who did this." He turned on his heels, glaring every member of the Team.
"S'cuse?" Artemis retorted. "You think one of us did this?" Roy snorted.
"Well, I'm not not saying that."
"Quit being a moron and say what you have to say." Her voice was icy and her eyes narrowed, locking on Roy's every move.
"Why would there have been a gas leak in that particular room, and nowhere else? Moreover, why does the leak consist of methane and carbon monoxide gasses? Is there anything in this cave that uses either of them for anything?"
Wally chimed in.
"Um, actually, Roy has a point."
Everyone turned to look at him, Roy, with relief, and Artemis, with sheer hate.
"Okay, I don't agree that one of us did it, that's ridiculous." Mostly, he thought.
"But he does have a point that both of the gasses aren't commonly used in any structures, giant caves holed into the sides of mountains included."
"So the gasses were definitely planted there?" Connor asked.
"They must—" Wally started, but was cut off.
"Um, you guys?" Zatanna inserted. "Can we argue about this later? I think we need to take care of her first." She looked down at the limp body of Dinah Lance. Everyone else looked around, nodding sadly with agreement.
Connor scooped up Canary's lifeless body. The rest of the Team helped to make a makeshift coffin by dismantling wooden crates that had been lying around in the basement, and then putting them all back together again. Zatanna levitated the body while M'gann wrapped it head to toe and back again in gauze from the Med Bay, like she was some kind of mummy. Once all that was left of her was the shape of her body, Conner and Kaldur lifted it into the coffin. Wally nailed it shut.
The Team had a mini-service for their deceased combat trainer, as they had before with Red Tornado. Then they disbanded.
…..
Nobody made a sound. Nobody accused anyone of anything. Nobody ate or laughed or joked around or did anything, really.
Instead, everyone sat around, either thinking to themselves, or just quietly being numb.
Eventually, Roy got up and left the room.
Wally tried to get up and move towards his friend, but Roy merely held up a hand to stop him and continued moving away from the group. He disappeared down a long, dark hallway.
Wally sighed dejectedly.
"Why is he being so melodramatic? Conner suddenly asked, annoyed. "I mean, we all lost a friend, too. Why's it he gets to mope more than the rest of us?"
Wally sighed. "He's not being melodramatic, really. I mean, okay, he could be handling it better, I guess, but give the guy some credit. Canary was the closest thing Roy's ever had to a mom."
Conner awkwardly sank back into the couch, regretting his outburst. Though he had come to trust Black Canary deeply because of the amount of time they spent together training, he had never been quite that close to her.
The Team continued to sit in silence until they all began to hear stomachs growling. M'gann offered to make dinner. Wally, unable to resist the temptation of food, followed.
Kaldur made eye contact with Robin, then stood. Robin nodded, understanding, and followed.
The two walked in silence to the interrogation room, where the earlier incident had occurred.
By this time, the room had been ventilated to the point that the boys could walk in without re-breathers and investigate. Robin was the first to talk.
"So, any ideas?"
Kaldur frowned and shook his head slightly. "No, nothing I can't disprove already."
"Well, let's hear them, anyways. It's better to put all our ideas on the table."
Kaldur nodded. "Well, I had thought at first that someone was hiding in the cave, doing all of this, and that we just didn't know of them. But then I realized that Zatanna had been acting suspicious of late."
Robin grew slightly warm, but not from anger. "What do you mean?"
"Well," said Kaldur, "I suppose someone could be hiding in the cave, but you would think that our systems would have detected an intruder." He paused, thinking. "But then I realized that Zatanna has been acting strangely. She seems to always know when something is going wrong, and she was the person who found Red Tornado's body. You said also that she was the one who woke you up on the first night, am I correct?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean anything," Robin responded a bit too quickly. Kaldur let out a single, warm chuckle.
"Robin, I realize your affections for Zatanna," he paused, chuckling again as Robin's face turned a slightly darker shade of red, "but I believe that at this moment, Batman would tell you to keep a clear head and look at the facts." Robin sighed slowly.
"Yeah, I know. I try. I really really do. It's just that, well, it's kinda hard, and, I dunno…" Robin struggled a bit. Kaldur helped.
"Robin, believe me, I understand. But right now, we have a mystery on our hands. Just keep that in mind." They continued searching for clues around the small interrogation room.
Robin nodded, understanding. "So, what else have you been thinking?"
They noticed a small vent in the top corner of the room, where the methane and carbon monoxide probably leaked in from.
"Well, I have been thinking that if we were to suspect Zatanna, she would also be able to single-handedly pull Red Tornado to pieces by herself using her magic."
"Could you give me a boost?" Robin asked. Kaldur nodded and heaved Robin onto his shoulders. Robin continued as he unscrewed the grate with a screwdriver from his utility belt. "The only problem with Zatanna being the killer, and this isn't just the hormones talking for me, is that she doesn't have a motive to kill either Red Tornado or Black Canary."
"Yes, I've thought about that, as well. That was when I thought again about the possibility of an intruder getting in without us knowing."
Robin lifted the grate from the vent and stuck his head in. The duct went straight for about three feet, then turned left. He began coughing and hopped down from Kaldur's shoulders. The boys left the interrogation room.
Once they were on the other side of the door where there was more oxygen, and Robin could breathe again, Kaldur continued. "Perhaps we should have the team split up and see if we could find an intruder?"
Robin nodded, agreeing. It was late, but if there really was an intruder in the cave who was killing them one by one, they really couldn't afford to not have a look around.
…..
When Robin and Kaldur walked back into the living area, everyone was eating.
"Where've you two been?" Artemis asked.
"Investigating the interrogation room," the two answered in unison.
"Guys," Robin started, turning to look at their leader for reassurance. Kaldur nodded. "Kaldur and I think that we may need to split up to search the cave for intruders."
The Team looked at each other, and then back to Robin.
"Yeah, I could get in on that," Wally stated. "I'll go with Megs." He flashed her his cheesiest grind and winked at her.
"Okay," she smiled shyly.
The teams consisted of Wally and M'gann, Artemis and Conner, and Robin and Kaldur. Zatanna looked around.
"I don't have a partner," she said.
"Sorry, your partner is currently moping," Conner said. "You can have mine." He made a gesture towards Artemis, who walked towards the magician. "I'll just go alone."
"Ugh, Artemis?" Zatanna fake scoffed. Artemis laughed.
"Alright, here is the plan."
…..
Once the teams were assigned, leaving Roy out of the equation, M'gann hooked up their minds with a mental link, and they all were on their way.
"So, Meg, got any ideas as to what's going on here?" Wally asked his search partner.
"Not really, but if there is an intruder, I kinda don't want to be the one to find him or her," she admitted nervously.
"Aw, it's okay, M'gann. You've got the Wall-man with you! You're totally safe!" He flashed a smile at her yet again. She giggled.
"Thanks, Wally. I feel much better now," she said sarcastically.
The two continued their search.
Nearly an hour later, Robin's voice came through the mental link.
"M'gann, Wally? You guys found anything yet?"
"No," they both thought.
"Artemis? Zatanna?"
"Nothing," Artemis's voice said.
"Nada," said Zatanna's.
"Conner? What about—" This thought was cut off by what sounded like a gunshot.
The whole team immediately regrouped in the living area.
Well, the whole team, minus Roy and Conner.
Then, a voice yelled.
"HELP!"
It sounded like Roy.
When the whole team found Roy, he was panicking over a body that looked like Conner's.
M'gann shrieked.
It was 3:02 a.m. and in less than twelve hours, yet another body was pronounced dead.
…..
Ooohh, the plot thickens. O.o
So, like I said before, sorry for it taking nearly a year for me to update. Hate me if you wish. But mostly, just review. That would be nice…
Thanks for reading and being so patient you guys!