AN: *takes a deep breath* I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I got so wrapped up in the NaNoWriMo thing that I completely neglected this story and I am so terribly sorry! My friend promised that my punishment for not finishing would be to drag me onto the Tower of Terror ride when we hit Disney for our vacation (and you have to understand, I HATE rollercoasters and any ride that drops you, I absolutely freak out). Anyway, I'm not all that fond of what I've been writing for NaNoWriMo (the characters quite honestly annoy me and the story really isn't all that great) and I'm only like 300 words away from the 50,000 goal and I decided bag it, you guys have been waiting far too long as it is so I'll update this and get the last 300 words done some other day before the 30th (or at least before midnight on the 30th). Oh! And before I forget, Pima (I hope you read this so you can get my answer, lol) asked me a question on my one-shot Never Again about whether or not I thought the characters from YJ acted in a psychologically consistent manner. Quite honestly, I do, especially after the episode where Black Canary tried to play therapist. Based on their life experiences and personalities, the team reacted in a way that seemed psychologically consistent to me. Wally went into denial and refused to confront anything. Artemis blocked off any attempt at help, preferring to shoulder it alone. Kaldur and Robin actually opened up and tried to at least start working through everything. Conner got angry (and then went on some adventure of self-discovery before he opened up). Finally, as expected, M'Gann had a bit of a break down and elected to stop using her powers. All in all, the team reacted pretty much in an expected and psychologically consistent way. Anyways, enough of the nerdy stuff, on to the real reason you're here chapter twelve!
Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, any of its characters or anything affiliated with it.
When Wally finally decided enough was enough and allowed himself to wake up the first thing he noticed was his stomach practically clawing at itself in hunger. He turned his head to the side to get a better look at the clock and rolled his eyes. Well no wonder I'm so hungry, it's almost 6:30, he thought. I skipped breakfast and lunch. He sighed loudly and tried to get up but found himself rather drained and lethargic. He sighed again and began to wonder what the chances were that he could get Artemis to bring him something to eat so he could at least get enough energy to drag his sorry butt to the kitchen when the door opened and his blonde headed best friend strode into the room carrying a tray loaded with food.
"You're an angel," Wally told her as she set the tray down on his bedside table before coming around and hopping onto the opposite side.
"I try," Artemis replied with a smile. "I knew you wouldn't have a lot of energy to get out of bed so I brought the food to you. But not all of that is for you; I haven't eaten yet either."
Wally eyed the mini mountain of food and shrugged. Sure, he could eat it all himself no problem, but Artemis' well-being was just as important to him as his own, even more so really, so he had no qualms about operating a bit under 100 percent if it meant Artemis was running on full herself. "So where did the cookies come from?" he asked, eyeing the slightly burnt forms that vaguely resembled the sugary treat.
"M'Gann made them," Artemis replied. "They're supposed to be chocolate chip."
"Uh huh," Wally grunted dubiously. "Well, it's food," he added with another shrug as he popped one in his mouth, chewed a couple of times and swallowed. He looked over and saw Artemis watching him with a slightly disturbed look and tilted his head questioningly.
"I only grabbed them to make her feel better," Artemis explained. "I figured we could dump them and just tell her we ate them; lie through our teeth and all that."
"We're still going to have to," Wally said as he swallowed more of the burnt lump and reached for another. "I don't know how anyone can call this chocolate chip... or call it a cookie for that matter."
"Then why are you eating it?" Artemis asked.
"Because it's food and I need to recharge," Wally replied. "If I try and keep as much of it off my tongue as possible, it's not that bad."
Artemis sighed and pushed the plate of eggs that she had swiped off the tray over to Wally. "Here, I made these so you know they're safe."
"I'm not taking your food," Wally replied. "You need to eat just as much as I do."
"No one needs to eat just as much as you do," Artemis joked. "Besides, your powers are a bit more dependent on you being fully recharged than mine."
Wally looked over at his best friend and tried his best to give her a stern stare, but she just looked right back at him, widened her eyes slightly and pouted. "Fine," he grumbled as he snatched the plate from her hands. "Using that look was completely unfair," he added after swallowing the first bite of the scrambled eggs.
"Why? Cause it gets you to do what I want?" Artemis laughed.
"Yes," Wally replied sullenly.
"Aw, come on, that just means I know you well enough to get under your skin," Artemis said as she nudged him gently.
"I just don't want you passing out and getting hurt on this thing we have tonight," Wally said, his voice serious and concerned. "We're already beat up enough from last night."
"I'm not going to fall apart just because I didn't have a plate of eggs," Artemis answered gently. "Though I do appreciate the concern."
"Of course, I've got your back, just like always," Wally said as he slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
"And I've got your back, which is exactly why you're eating those eggs and not the charred lumps that may or may not inadvertently poison you," Artemis replied as she grabbed the plate of dubious looking cookies and dumping them in the trash bin. "Though if M'Gann asks, they were delicious."
"I know, I know," Wally chuckled before the pair fell into a companionable silence while they ate. Finally, after the last plate was cleared, Wally stretched out along his bed and pulled Artemis closer to him once again. "So how're you holding up?"
"Better," Artemis answered, not needing to ask what he was talking about. "I really should have guessed that something like this would happen. I mean, what else could he have been training me for?" she added as she shifted closer and wrapped one arm around Wally's torso and rested her head on his chest.
"It's one thing to guess and a completely different thing to know for sure," Wally said as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.
"I'll be fine," Artemis assured him. "I know I'm not alone in this," she added as she hugged him tighter for a moment.
"Never," Wally replied. "You're stuck with me babe; this thing is a life sentence."
"Only you would say something like that," Artemis laughed.
"It doesn't make it any less true," Wally said with a grin.
"I know," Artemis replied with a soft smile of her own. "And the same goes for me; we're in this thing together. Forever and always."
Wally and Artemis just sat talking for a few more minutes before a loud knock sounded against the metal of Wally's door.
"Hey dude!" Dick called. "I know you said not to disturb you, but we've got to get going if we're going to be ready by the time Roy gets here."
"Yeah, yeah," Wally called back as he got off his bed and brushed away the crumbs from the meal. "We're coming."
"We're?" Dick asked as the metal door slid open to reveal Wally and Artemis. Dick made a show of looking Artemis over for a moment before grinning at her. "Well, I don't see any cuts and bruises, so he must have let you off easy," he teased.
"Nah man, Artemis is different," Wally replied as he slung an arm across his blonde best friend's shoulders. "She knows when it's safe to wake me up. Plus, it helped that she came bearing food."
"We were wondering why she was disappearing with that pile," Dick laughed. "Well come on, we've got to suit up and get to the zeta tube hall before Roy gets here."
About five minutes later the six teens were in their uniforms and milling about in the cavernous zeta tube hall waiting for Roy to show up.
"Well, he's taking his sweet time," Artemis grumbled as she shifted her weight to her left foot.
"Is it a habit of JL members to keep people waiting?" Impulse asked. He had taken a seat on the floor in an effort to keep his movements to a minimum in order to conserve his energy, but his foot was still tapping impatiently. It didn't exactly help that even Artemis had taken to fidgeting and out of the two of them she was the better able to stay motionless for extended periods of time.
"Depends on who it is," Robin answered truthfully. "Though Spee…er Red Arrow usually doesn't keep us waiting."
"Perhaps something has happened to him," Aqualad said.
"Should I try and contact him?" Miss Martian asked. "If he's within range I should be able to link him up."
"No need," Red Arrow said as a bright flash and the accompanying mechanical voice announced his presence. "Just got caught up in something; civilian life, no big deal."
"Well let's get this thing going, yeah?" Impulse said as he stood. "What do you need us for?"
"You're chomping at the bit," Red Arrow replied, an eyebrow raised behind his domino mask. "Are you usually this impulsive?"
"Dude, my name is Impulse," Impulse answered. "Besides, when you move at super speed, it's kinda hard to slow down for the rest of the world. Now seriously, you've kept us waiting long enough; what's going on that you needed to call in the six of us?"
"What do you know of the recent string of kidnappings of the children of Congressmen and Senators?" Red Arrow asked. When all he got back was blank stares he rolled his eyes. "Don't any of you watch the news at all?"
"Dude, we were in South America the other night and we've slept pretty much all day today to make up for it," Robin retorted. "Couple that with midterms at school and you're lucky if we even know what day it is."
"I see," Red Arrow replied. "All right, so to fill you in on what the civilians know, a lot of children of Congressmen and Senators from the New England area have been abducted over the last couple of weeks. Local authorities have tried to track down any lead possible, but whoever's behind all this isn't contacting anyone. No ransoms have been demanded and they've taken care to cover their tracks."
"Than what are we doing?" Impulse demanded. "If there aren't any leads to go on then why do you need us?"
"Because as far as the public knows there aren't any leads," Red Arrow replied. "However, I was hired privately and I've got access to information that the local authorities don't."
"So you know where the children are," Aqualad said, catching on.
"Maybe," Red Arrow admitted. "I've narrowed it down to a highly likely location anyway. There's a compound on Long Island, far from any other homes. I haven't actually seen any of the missing kids, but it's guarded almost as well as Arkham."
"So we're looking at armed guards, turrets, armed search lights, motion sensors, heat sensors, am I missing anything?" Artemis asked. "And you want to get into this place tonight? On a hunch? Are you insane?"
"I've been scooping this place out for a little over a week," Red Arrow retorted. "I've found a way in and I'm almost positive that the kids are there. I've been monitoring communications and incoming and outgoing shipments. They've been bringing in things that make me think they've got the kids there."
"Like what?" Impulse asked. "I need more than your assurances to go out there and put myself in that level of danger."
"Kids movies, clothes for kids, stuff like that," Red Arrow replied. "I seriously doubt the men marching around the perimeter with submachine guns are going to want to watch How to Train Your Dragon."
"So we're talking young kids?" Artemis asked, her snarky demeanor vanishing and being replaced with a frown on her lips and a hard look in her eyes. Next to her, Impulse had stopped twitching and instead adopted a tense and rigid posture. If there was one thing neither of them could stand, it was sickos hurting young kids.
"The oldest is only eleven," Red Arrow answered. "The youngest is five."
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Impulse growled as he made his way to the zeta tube, Artemis close behind. "Let's get those kids out and tear apart the bastards that took them."
"Am I missing something?" Red Arrow asked the rest of the Team after Impulse and Artemis disappeared in a flash of white light.
"You're guess is as good as ours," Robin replied with a shrug. "But I think it's safe to say they are very much traught on this whole thing now."
"You will have their full attention and full use of their energies," Aqualad agreed. "I am sure you will find that very helpful in this, especially if you allow the two of them to work together."
"They're that good?" Red Arrow asked skeptically.
"They've been trained," Superboy grunted. "They won't say by who, but they've been trained. My guess is that they've been fighting for years too; long before we ever knew them."
"I do caution you though," Aqualad interjected. "They do not hold back when they fight."
"What do you mean?" Red Arrow questioned, a frown on his face.
"They can get a bit... feral," Miss Martian answered. "It's a little frightening really; it's almost like they're happy to be in the fight, like they enjoy breaking bones."
"It is a little creepy," Robin agreed. "Especially when they start grinning like they're having the time of their lives."
"And Bats allows this?" Red Arrow asked incredulously.
"It's not like they're going overboard with it," Robin answered with a shrug as he headed for the zeta tubes as well. "They do have a lot of self-control not to kill anyone, even if it looks like they really want to sometimes. Now we should probably get going; they're probably getting impatient waiting for us on the other side." He disappeared into the light and the rest of the Team plus Red Arrow followed after.
The rest of the Team popped out on the coast of Connecticut; Long Island was a dark smudge on the horizon of the ever darkening sky. Impulse and Artemis had taken up positions on a large rock by the shore. Artemis was sitting on the rock itself, idly stringing her bow while Impulse leaned against the side and stared out across the water.
"About time," the speedster groused as the rest of the Team stepped up to them. "How do you propose we get across? The ferry has stopped running for the day and we probably wouldn't want to get on a ferry full of people suited up anyway."
"I've got a speedboat a little ways down the coast," Red Arrow answered. "Follow me." Without another word he turned and led the Team down the rocky beach to a little alcove. A small, nondescript and black boat sat on the waves, rocking with the motion of the water lapping up against the sides of the alcove. The seven teens climbed down and got in before Red Arrow started the motor and sent them skipping across the water to the island.
The group rode in outward silence, though Miss Martian had quickly established a mental link and they were going over logistics and covering all the specifics they could think of while they made their way to the island. Artemis and Impulse were uncharacteristically silent, asking only necessary questions of how many men there were, where the most likely place the children were being held was, exactly how many children there were and where they were sneaking into the compound. After their questions were answered, they went back to their silence and simply listened to all Red Arrow had to say. Five minutes after docking, the Team had been traveling up a dirt path when Red Arrow suddenly motioned for them to halt. They were just inside the outer edge of a copse of trees and he pointed down the hill to a large brick house with thick, concrete walls. Guard towers had been set up at the four corners of the walls and the search lights roamed ceaselessly over the entire structure.
"Up there," Red Arrow said, pointing to the single darkened window in the entire structure.
"You still haven't explained how we're going to get past thirty armed guards," Artemis said.
"Much less how we're going to sneak ourselves and eleven young kids back out," Impulse added.
"I've timed the search tower lights," Red Arrow explained. "And I've found a back access for the employees to use. We can get in through there and then make our way up into the room where the kids are from there."
"And the guards?" Robin asked. "I mean, we're good, but not good enough to take on thirty or more guards armed with AKs or worse."
"How do we even know there aren't a lot more guards on the inside?" Superboy asked.
"I've checked for heat signatures multiple times," Red Arrow answered. "Most of the force is concentrated out here; there's hardly any security on the inside. I guess they're not expecting an escape from a bunch of kids."
"Hang on," Impulse said as he pulled his goggles down over his eyes and switched them to thermal imaging mode even as Superboy adjusted his eyesight to get the same perspective. "I'm seeing maybe five adults and eleven kids in that room," he said as he gestured to the same room Red Arrow had pointed to earlier.
"I've got the same thing," Superboy confirmed.
"Well, let's get this show on the road then," Artemis said as she stood from her crouch and motioned for Red Arrow to lead the way. "This is your op, lead the way."
Red Arrow nodded her way once and slipped out from the trees, carefully making his way to the back entrance to the compound. The rest of the Team followed after him, making sure to stagger themselves so as not to make it obvious.
Getting in turned out to be the easy part. After Artemis deftly picked the lock and Robin hacked into the security system to make the seven of them virtually invisible, the only obstacles in their way were the five guards in the building. In typical guard fashion, the five men were lax and not at all paying attention to their surroundings. They had congregated in the living room to watch some sort sports event and the seven teens were able to sneak right by them, up the stairs and to the locked room the kids were being held in. Artemis quickly picked the lock once again and they were in.
There was a small squeak and a shuffling noise from the darkness beyond and suddenly a plastic baseball bat was swinging towards Red Arrow's head. He caught it just in time and yanked it forward, dragging a young boy into the light of the hallway.
"Easy kid," he said. "We're here to help. Do you know who we are?"
The young boy looked over each teen, his eyes growing significantly wider. "Yeah," he finally whispered as he nodded slowly.
"Okay, good," Red Arrow replied. "We're getting you kids out of here. You all ready to go?"
"Yeah," the boy said again. "Hang on."
Not even two minutes later, all eleven kids were lined up in the hallway, watching the young heroes with wide eyes.
"Okay, we're here to help you," Red Arrow repeated once they were all present. "We're getting you out of here and back home, but we need your help. You've all got to promise to be quiet, all right?" After all eleven heads nodded at him he nodded once himself. "Good, now follow me."
How are we getting back out?, Miss Martian asked through the mental link.
Through the basement, Red Arrow replied. There's a tunnel there that leads to their private airstrip. We'll, uh, commandeer one of their planes to get these kids back home.
Why didn't we take this tunnel before?, Impulse asked.
The door on the other side is one way, Red Arrow answered. Believe me, if we could have gotten through it, we would have.
Well, nothing to do now but keep moving forward, Robin said.
Yeah, but does anyone here have experience flying private planes?, Artemis queried. Cause Impulse and I don't.
We all do, Superboy answered. League training kind of demanded it.
Getting into the basement turned out to be just as easy as getting into the compound. The Team and the kids were halfway down the tunnel to the airstrip before any sort of alarm was raised. Suddenly a loud, blaring noise tore through the hallway and the seven young heroes froze for a moment, glancing warily at each other.
"Run," Robin said lowly, breaking the moment of tense silence. "Run!" he said louder before scooping up the smallest child and taking off down the hall.
Each of the other teens grabbed a couple kids themselves; Superboy ended up carrying five. They ran the length of the rest of the hallway and came out at the airstrip on the other side.
"Get the plane going!" Superboy yelled as he put the kids he was carrying down and turned back to face the tunnel exit. "I'll hold them off."
"You're going to need help," Impulse said as he set the two kids he was carrying down as well.
"If you're staying, I'm staying," Artemis told Impulse, about to put her charge down as well before Impulse placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Robin may need your help to bypass security here," he told her. "Besides, once you get the plane going, I'll need to run Superboy and me in to catch it before it takes off. I can't carry two people if one of those people happens to be Superboy."
"I don't like leaving you here," Artemis replied, a frown on her face. "Separating feels…wrong."
"I know," Impulse responded. "I don't like it any more than you do, but right now we don't have much of a choice. We've got to get these kids out of here and to do that our talents are needed in two different places."
"You better come back to me alive and in one piece," Artemis said after a moment's pause. "Because I swear if you don't, I'll find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself for being a complete idiot."
"Come on, you know me," Impulse reminded her with a soft smile. "I don't do anything reckless, ever."
"Yeah, sure," Artemis snorted derisively.
"Besides, I've already told you," Impulse continued in a more serious tone. "This thing is a life sentence; always and forever."
"Always and forever," Artemis echoed. "Stay safe," she added before scooping up the two kids Impulse had been carrying and turning to make a run for the hanger.
"You too," Impulse called after her before turning back to the tunnel and taking position beside Superboy.
"You ready for this?" the teenaged powerhouse asked.
"Dude, I was born ready," Impulse replied as he cracked his knuckles and allowed a feral grin to play along his lips.
The two of them didn't have to wait long for their fight to begin. Soon after the rest of the Team had disappeared within the dark confines of the hanger behind them the first of the guards burst up through the tunnel.
"Here we go," Impulse chuckled darkly before he zipped in and took care of the first few men before any of them could get a shot off.
As it turned out, it was probably a good thing it was Impulse and Superboy that stayed behind to hinder the guards from getting to the hanger. Every last one of them had brought their guns with them and wasted no time in trying to shoot down the two teens. With Superboy being practically indestructible (at least when it came to bullets) and Impulse able to read the path of the bullets and, indeed, travel faster than them to avoid them easily, not a single shot managed to do any damage to either teen. However, the same could not be said for the guards. Even though wave after wave kept popping up through the tunnel (seriously, there had to be a lot more than the original estimate of thirty) Superboy knocked them down with well placed, super powered punches and Impulse weaved his way through them, knocking out his fair share before they even knew what hit them. Finally, when the sound of a plane engine filled the air, Impulse stopped moving at super speeds long enough for Superboy to climb on his back.
"They're playing our song," he told the teenaged Kryptonian. "Guess that means it's time to get going. It's a shame really; I was having a lot of fun."
"Whatever, let's just catch up before the plane leaves," Superboy replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Hold on tight man, I can't guarantee a smooth ride," Impulse said before he shot off after the private jet already making its way down the tarmac.
The rear cargo bat was open so Impulse could run right in and both Artemis and Red Arrow could be seen on either side of the ramp, bows drawn, as they fired round after round into the guards to keep them too busy to react. Once Impulse shot into the plane between them Red Arrow stood and slammed on the button to close the hatch even as Artemis yelled for Robin to get the plane in the air.
Once Impulse had gotten into the plane he practically dumped Superboy off his back and bent over, hand on his knees, as he breathed heavily for a minute of two. "Dude, anyone ever tell you that you weigh like a ton?" he asked once he could breathe normally.
"Not really, no," Superboy replied with an unconcerned shrug.
"So we got the kids," Robin said, jerking his thumb to the part of the plane the eleven children had clustered themselves into, even though he kept his eyes on the skies as he maneuvered the plane. "But do we know why they were taken in the first place."
"I never actually bothered to find out," Red Arrow admitted. "I was hired to find out where they were and to get them back; not find out why they were abducted in the first place."
"I heard one of the men watching us say something about 'placement'," the oldest boy, the same kid who had swung the plastic bat at Red Arrow, said aloud. "I don't know what that means though."
"Uh, you guys may want to have a look at this," Superboy said. He was standing over a wooden crate in the cargo area he had pried open. He reached in and pulled out a vial of the same, oddly colored liquid the Team had seen at the night club and most recently in South America.
"And so the plot thickens," Artemis sighed. "And you can bet no one will tell us anything about why this stuff is here and how it's connected to these kids."
"Probably not," Impulse agreed.
AN2: Again, I am so very very sorry for neglecting this as long as I did (curse you NaNoWriMo!) Good news is, that's done (and so are my grad school applications, well, for the most part anyway) so I will now have more time to write :D Oh, and please don't think my reference to How to Train Your Dragon is meant in any way to pick on the movie and/or the people who love it. I happen to be one of those people myself (Seriously; it remains my number one favorite movie ever, lol). As always, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to leave me a review! I crave to know what you guys think of the story!